The 45th VGIK International Student Festival. "Global Values" is officially open.

      On November 10, 2025, the international stage of the jubilee 45th VGIK Student Festival — Global Values — opened in Moscow.

      The event is one of the largest platforms for international student cinema. The festival’s main goal is to strengthen international ties and foster creative exchange of experience among students from different countries.

      The event is organized by the All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov (VGIK), the producer center “VGIK-Debut”, ANO “Creative Studio ‘STELLA’”, and the film company “Estafeta”, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the National Fund for Support of Rights Holders, the Union of Cinematographers of Russia and the Government of Moscow.

      The international film festival received 516 submissions from 50 countries and 110 film schools. The competition program includes 77 films from 50 countries and 56 film schools.

      The jury was headed by Emir Kusturica — a Serbian film director, actor and screenwriter, recipient of awards at major European film festivals, including two Palme d’Ors at the Cannes Film Festival.

      The international jury included: Gao Xiongjie (China) — director, screenwriter; Melik Saraçoglu (Turkey) — screenwriter, director; Shahruhkan Cherhan Chavada (India) — director, screenwriter; Guo Xuyang (China) — producer, distributor, Gemini Sky Film; Darya Ekamasova (Russia) — actress; Ivan Kudryavtsev (Russia) — journalist, TV host, producer; Maria Lemeshova (Russia) — TV presenter, film critic, journalist, editor.

      Traditionally, the 21st International Theatre Competition is held alongside the film festival. This year 8 productions from eight theatre schools in three countries — Russia, Armenia and Serbia — are competing. The chairman of the theatre jury is Grigory Lifanov (Russia) — theatre and film actor.

      Evaluating the works with him will be: Anna Motornaya (Belarus) — theatre director; Temur Rashidov (Uzbekistan) — art historian; Marina Korostyleva (Russia) — film scholar; Alexander Efremov (Belarus) — actor, director, artistic director of the Theatre-Studio of the Film Actor; Goran Radovanovic (Serbia) — director, screenwriter, producer.

      Guests of the event can expect a rich non-competition program:

      From November 10 to 14, 2025, at VGIK venues there will be:

      - A screening of the documentary “Vadim Abdrashitov. Conversation with Time”.

      - A creative meeting with jury chairman Emir Kusturica.

      - A master class by Evgeny Vladimirovich Knyazev, rector of the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute.

      Greetings to the festival were sent by: the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; the Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Volodin; the Minister of Culture Olga Borisovna Lyubimova.

      The festival will conclude with a colorful awards ceremony for the winners on November 14, 2025.

      “The most important thing is that it keeps pace with the times and that its future is alongside the future of the society, the country in which we live. And since this is an international festival, probably alongside the future of the whole world. Because cinema always reflects its time,” said the festival’s general director, director Fyodor Popov.

      Photo: press service