Minsk International Film Forum "Listapad"

The first Listapad Film Forum was held in Minsk in 1993, until 2002 it was called the International Film Festival of the CIS Countries and Baltic States. In 2013, the Minsk International Film Festival Listapad received permanent accreditation from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations and entered the list of the most prestigious film forums where such world-famous film forums as Berlin, Venice, Warsaw, and Moscow festivals are included. The competition program of the festival consists of 4 sections: ▪ feature films (Main Feature Films Competition and Debut Feature Films Competition "Youth on the March"); ▪ documentary films (Main Documentary Films Competition and National Film Schools Competition); ▪ Children and Youth Films Competition “Listapadzik”; ▪ National Competition (includes documentary, feature, and animated films). Every November, the Festival Listapad brings the best films from around the world to Minsk. The main contests of feature and documentary films are focused on new films created in the countries of the former USSR: the CIS countries, Central and Southeast Asia, the Baltic States, Eastern and Central Europe. The films from this region recognized at the most prestigious international film festivals, compete for the main award of the Minsk International Film Festival. 7 International juries work at the Festival Listapad. The highest award of the Festival is Golden Listapad Grand Prix for the Best Film, Grand Prix for the Best Documentary Film, the Golden Listapadzik Prize for the Best Film, and the FIPRESCI International Press Jury Prize. During the festival week, more than 232 screenings take place at 5 venues. The majority of the screenings are followed by Q&A; sessions with the authors of the films. The program includes workshops, retrospectives, and exhibitions. MIFF Listapad is visited by about 20,000 spectators and more than 100 guests from more than 50 foreign countries every year. Some of them belong to the cultural and business elite of world film-making industry. Since 2014, a special competition has been held at the festival for the Belarusian filmmakers residing and working not only in Belarus but also in other countries of the world. In addition, since 2014, the BelCinema Industrial Platform has been taking place within the framework of the Festival Listapad, during which about 15 events are organized. These are workshops of the international B2B Doc platform and Adami Media Prize, Virtual Reality Days featuring VK films from Poland, Lithuania, France, Belarus, Argentina, Czech Republic and the USA. The executive body – the Festival Directorate – is an example of partnership between state and private owners, since its functions were outsourced by the Ministry of Culture to a public association — the Private Theater and Performance Institution Culture Center for Visual and Performing Arts, which accumulates financial investments (public and private) to organize the festival, and manages it.