More than 2,000 guests attended 30 events of the business program of the Moscow International Film Week, held on August 26-27. Among them were 130 international film industry experts, screenwriters, producers, and representatives of major film clusters.
Over the two days of the business program, more than two thousand guests visited its venue, including representatives of the Russian film industry, foreign experts, students from specialized universities, and employees of leading media companies. The program featured 30 events with 130 international speakers.
The geographic scope of the participating countries in the business program is extensive: India, China, Brazil, Egypt, UAE, Turkey, Panama, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Thailand, Cameroon, South Korea – more than 40 nations sent their representatives to strengthen cooperation with Russian players in the global film industry.
The program opened with a plenary session attended by representatives from 11 ministries of creative economy and culture. Among the speakers were Alexey Fursin, Minister of the Moscow Government and head of the Department of Culture of Moscow, Arianne Benedetti, Deputy Minister of Culture of Panama, Avazhan Tajikhanov, First Deputy Minister of Culture of Uzbekistan, Yevgeny Kochetov, Vice Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Peace Mabe, Deputy Minister of Sport, Culture, and Arts of South Africa. Following the plenary session, participants agreed to continue developing cooperation between national creative economies and mutually support the promotion of local content in foreign markets.
The main themes of the business program were global markets, film production, screenwriting, promotion, and education.
Global Markets
The two-day business program of the Moscow International Film Week (MIFW) included a large block of country sessions where delegates from India, China, Turkey, and the Middle East shared insights about their national cinema and experiences in promoting it on the global market. Directors and producers from major content production companies in Turkey, including Fatih Aksoy, Ates Ince, and Kerem Catay, discussed the phenomenon of Turkish films and TV series, strategies for their promotion, and their adaptation for the global arena during the “Turkey. Knock on Someone Else’s Door” discussion.
The phenomenon of the Chinese industry, which quickly became a key global player, was discussed in the country-study “China: The Cinematic Miracle of the Middle Kingdom.” Chinese director Zhou Wei and representatives of Chinese production companies emphasized that foreign companies need to consider the national specifics of the Chinese market when establishing communications and noted that successful project implementation in China is impossible without well-established partnerships.
The Middle Eastern market was discussed by top management from leading film companies in the region: Bilal Dayani, CEO of Eagle Films (UAE), Tunisian producer Habib Attia, and Zainab Abu Al-Samh, General Manager of MBC Studios, MBC Talent & Academy in Saudi Arabia. Speakers noted that one of the main content trends in the region is the growing demand for animation and discussed potential cooperation strategies between the Middle East and Russia in film production.
India was the country in focus at the first MIFW. Discussions such as “India: The Perfect Mix of Dance and Action” and “Hollywood. Bollywood. Tollywood: The Home of RRR and Hidden Gems of the Global Film Industry” featured heads of major film companies, top managers, and producers from Bollywood and Tollywood. Experts highlighted that new formats in Indian cinema emerge from observing innovations and preserving cultural heritage, enabling Bollywood and Tollywood to succeed globally. They also stressed that Russia has the potential to become an attractive location for filming and distributing Indian cinema – initial steps in this direction have already been taken.
Film Production
Participants of the panel discussion “The Experience of Film Commissions: How to Attract Filming to Your Region” discussed ways to attract audiovisual content producers to their regions. Speakers included Nabil Abu Samra, Head of Production in the UAE, Ahmed Samba, CEO of the Egyptian Film Commission, Guillermo Saldana Puente, Head of the Mexican Film Commission, and Shruti Rajkumar, Head of the Indian Film Commission. They reviewed successful cases of attracting foreign film producers to different regions, identified key trends in this area, and discussed the most effective practices, with the most important being ensuring a simple and transparent communication process for all parties involved.
Another key focus of the business program was roundtable discussions on animated content – its creation, monetization, co-production, and finding new paths for cooperation in this area. During the panel discussion “The Path to Success: How to Bring a Local Animation Brand to the Global Market,” representatives from Russian and foreign animation studios shared their experiences in promoting and launching products on the global market, as well as the opportunities and challenges of this process. Speakers included Mahmoud Hemeda, CEO of the Egyptian studio Samaka, Ankur Bhasin, CEO of Bhasin Studios and Encore Films from India, and representatives from animation content producers in Saudi Arabia and China.
The discussion “More Than Content: How to Effectively Monetize Animation IP” focused on the monetization of animated films. Representatives from major international animation studios in China, South Korea, and India shared their cases of the most effective IPs and discussed best practices for content licensing, franchise creation, amusement parks, and merchandise. Participants also explored possible strategies for studios looking to monetize content in the current environment. The roundtable “Co-Production in Animation” addressed international cooperation among animation studios and promising directions for collaborations between foreign companies and Russian partners. Experts included Rathan Sam George, President of the major Indian studio Toonz, Steve Cho, Senior Vice President of the South Korean studio Sunwoo, and representatives of Russian companies – Yulia Nikolaeva, General Producer of “Riki,” and Vladimir Nikolaev, General Producer of the “Voronezh” studio.
Screenwriting
A significant portion of the MIFW business program was dedicated to screenwriting. One of the key experts was American screenwriter David Marconi, known for films such as “The Foreigner” and “Die Hard 4.0.” In the session “Global Storytelling vs. Local,” Marconi, along with Turkish producer Fatih Aksoy from Medyapim, Russian screenwriter and director Andrey Zolotarev, Mexican screenwriter Santiago Limon, Cameroonian producer and director Peter Jokfu Nkevir from Blue Film Community, and film critic and editor-in-chief of “Smotrim Kino” magazine Alan, discussed the differences between writing scripts for local and global markets and the importance of preserving filmmakers’ cultural identity when producing content for a global audience. In a closed workshop for students of relevant fields and participants of the “Author” program, Marconi shared techniques for creating engaging stories and revealed secrets from his own experience in screenwriting in the global industry.
The main speakers of the discussion “Writing the Dream Script and Capturing the World” were Turkish screenwriter Ayse Kutlu, known for her work on the series “Knock on My Door” and “Early Bird,” and Russian screenwriter and director Andrey Zolotarev (“The Word of a Pledge,” “Trigger”). They discussed how to avoid stereotypes and clichés when creating stories for an international audience, emphasizing that breaking free from templates is the key to successfully representing a country’s culture abroad.
Promotion and Education
During the panel discussion “Festival Fever: The Pulse of Contemporary Cinema,” producer Dora Bouchoucha (Tunisia), producer Rula Nasser (Jordan), International Affairs Director of the Iranian Youth Cinema Society Davood Adeli, CEO of the Agency for Creative Industries Gulnara Agamova, Executive Director of the Minsk International Festival “Listapad” Olesya Rulkova, CEO of Red Carpet Studio Anton Kalinkin, and film director and screenwriter Alexey Uchitel emphasized that festivals are currently one of the main channels for promoting content on the international market, requiring investments.
Representatives of leading Russian and global film schools, including producer, screenwriter, and co-founder of the “Vodorod” company Mikhail Vrubel, Creative Director of the KION online cinema Ilya Burets, and CEO of the International Business Department at Hengdian World Studios Carolina Guo (China), shared insights on industry personnel training during the panel discussion “Behind-the-Scenes Talent: Strategies for Creating, Attracting, and Retaining Talent in Film.” The rapid growth of film production has led to a shortage of industry professionals, and modern specialists must support young people in choosing film professions through educational initiatives such as labs, festivals, and pitch sessions.
During the business program, closed pitch sessions were held for representatives of the international film industry – production companies and independent investors. Six Russian projects were presented to foreign guests.
The Moscow International Film Week will continue until August 28. Muscovites and guests of the capital are invited to attend master classes, lectures, and film screenings. Detailed information about the event is available on the official website.
The Moscow International Film Week is organized by the Moscow Department of Culture and the Agency for Creative Industries and is part of the Mayor of Moscow’s project “Moscow – the City of Cinema.” The film venues will showcase over 70 foreign films, featuring films from more than 20 countries. A total of about 300 film screenings are planned as part of the event. The Moscow International Film Week (MIFW) will be held as part of the forum-festival “Territory of the Future. Moscow 2030.”
General Partners of the Moscow International Film Week
- Gazprom-Media Holding: The largest media holding in Russia, contributing to the formation of the national media industry for over 25 years. Gazprom-Media develops digital platforms such as the PREMIER online cinema, the national video hosting RUTUBE, and the short vertical video app YAPPY. The holding has its own digital lab, D.lab, which works on AI-based content creation and processing, as well as tracking and analyzing technologies in the media market. Gazprom-Media also implements a large-scale corporate social responsibility program, PRO, aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of NGOs, promoting charity and volunteering, and developing youth in the media field through the “PRONavigator” project.
- MTS Media: A media holding created in February 2024 that unites the entertainment businesses of the MTS digital ecosystem. MTS Media manages five businesses in online and offline environments, including the KION online cinema, MTS Live ticket services, and MTS Music streaming service.
- National Media Group: The largest private media holding in Russia, managing a diversified portfolio of assets in the production, distribution, and monetization of high-quality information and entertainment content across all consumption environments. Key assets include the leading Russian TV channels REN TV, Channel Five, STS, Domashny, and Che, as well as the multimedia information center “Izvestia.”
- Yandex: A technology company that creates innovative products and services based on machine learning and neural networks. Yandex’s main business areas include search and portal services, e-commerce, classifieds, entertainment and financial services, online taxi and food delivery services, and autonomous vehicles.
Moscow Film Cluster
The Moscow Film Cluster is a set of infrastructure facilities, services, and platforms for domestic and international film producers, developed by the Moscow Government as part of the Mayor’s project “Moscow – the City of Cinema.” The structure of the Moscow Film Cluster includes six areas: the Moskino Film Park in New Moscow, Moskino Cinemas, the METMASH Film Factory, the Gorky Film Studio, the Moscow Film Commission, and the Moskino Film Platform.
Agency for Creative Industries
The Agency for Creative Industries (ACI) is an institution for the development of creative industries in Moscow. Its main tasks include creating favorable conditions for the development of representatives from film, fashion, design, contemporary art, video games, music, publishing, and more, promoting their products in international markets, and shaping a positive image of the capital as an international center of creative industries.
Moscow Department of Culture
The Moscow Department of Culture is responsible for developing the city’s cultural environment, creating opportunities for diverse leisure activities for Muscovites and visitors, organizing children’s recreational activities, creative education, supporting creative projects, and creating infrastructure for international-level film production. The department oversees more than 330 subordinate organizations, with over 33,000 people working in the department and cultural institutions, attracting 190 million visitors to its events annually, and managing 148,000 educational, sports, and creative clubs and sections in cultural centers and other organizations.