From August 17 to August 21, 2022, the II International Film Festival "SHAPE OF LIFE" was held in Perm and the Perm Region districts. The festival is organized by the Gorky Film Studio with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture of the Perm Region, the Perm Regional Philharmonic Society, the Perm Film Commission and the Perm Cinematheque. Two competitions were presented at the festival: international and national, as well as an out-of-competition program.

"The second SHAPE OF LIFE Film Festival has demonstrated that the development of ecological and socially active cinema is moving towards increasing audience activity. And we can see how much more lively the screenings of competitive and non-competitive programs have become. We managed to collect films that not only showed new trends in world documentaries, but also became absolutely new to the Russian audience. Let me remind you that nine Russian premieres and films from all over the world are presented in the competition program of the film festival this year. It seems to me that today this kind of representativeness is an indicator of the high level of the International film Festival, – says Maria Bezenkova, program director of the II International Film Festival "SHAPE OF LIFE".

SHAPE OF LIFE is an international film festival about the environment, which allows us to present current trends in the development of civil society cinema, to identify human responsibility to all forms of life inhabiting our planet.

On August 21, 2022, the closing ceremony of the film festival took place in the Organ Concert Hall of Perm. The results of the competition program were summed up there. The jury of the international competition, chaired by producer, screenwriter, director Sveta Vlastimir Strahinich, selected the winners in the following categories:

KINNERET (director and cinematographer Moshe Alpert, Israel) won the nomination for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY of the international competition. The film is about a kitten who lost his mother and was left alone in the stormy jungle of life on the Sea of Galilee. An exciting cinematic drama about wildlife.

The winner of the prize FOR BEST SCREENPLAY of the international competition was the film "PREBILOVTSY – EVEN STONES HAVE SCARS THERE" (written and directed by Sanya Dragicevic Babic, Serbia). The film tells about a village in Herzegovina, where life stopped twice, and which was revived again. This is a film about crime, about the will to live, about dignity and memory. About prevention and cognition.

The prize FOR BEST DIRECTING of the international competition was awarded to the film "FREEDOM SQUARED" (directed by Anastasia Zverkova, Russia). This film tells about a young scientist in the field of space medicine who goes to the Antarctic station "Vostok", the coldest point on the planet, to explore human vision in extreme conditions. The last plane leaves, and the polar explorers find themselves in absolute isolation. The days drag on, the weeks look the same. And the hero asks himself the question: is a person ready for long-distance space flights spiritually, and not physically?

The winner of the GRAND PRIX of the International Competition was the film "SUMMER NIGHTS" (directed by Ohad Milstein, Israel, Switzerland) This film plunged the viewer into the world of a six-year-old child. A journey into the subconscious of an innocent child when he falls asleep and plunges into the depths of his own mind.

The jury of the international competition also awarded the film "A.RTIFICIAL I.MMORTALITY" (directed by Ann Shin, Canada) with a diploma for the aspiration to preserve humanity in scientific progress. The film explores the latest technological advances in artificial intelligence, robotics and biotechnology. The authors pose the question: what is the essence of the human mind, and is it possible to reproduce it? Or will we ever be able to meet cloned versions of ourselves —clones that are better, smarter and immortal?

"The II International Film Festival "SHAPE OF LIFE" in Perm has ended. And once again we were convinced that there are no borders and obstacles to show and discuss important problems for humanity. All the films that won prizes, both in national and international competitions, were united by important themes: the fragility of any form of life, the interdependence of man and the surrounding world and transhumanism. – says Anastasia Rycina, head of the Department of Documentary and Popular Science Cinema at the Gorky Film Studio. – The film studio plans to develop the festival in the future! We hope that next year it will also be warmly welcomed by the audience!"

In the National Competition, where director and screenwriter Sergey Karandashov was the chairman of the jury, the winners in the following nominations were selected:

Jury DIPLOMA for the film "CHILDREN OF WAR" (directed by Sardaana Barabanova) for the metaphorical restoration of historical memory. The picture tells the stories of Yakut children of the Great Patriotic War, who in 1941 were from 6 to 14 years old. The film recreates their life in the deep rear thousands of kilometers from the front line through drawings and animation. In small Yakut villages, these children survived the war – suffered from hunger, cold, worked on a par with adults and saw the death of loved ones. This film is a tribute of respect and appreciation to the veterans of the Second World War and the home front, the children of war, their heroic work was done in the name of peace on earth.
Special jury award of the national competition with the wording "For the revelation of the vivid female characters" was awarded to the picture "THE CARING WOMEN OF UDORA" by director Anna Koryakovtseva, that tells about an ancient rite dedicated to St. Paraskeva Friday, which takes place annually in the village of Krivoe in the Udora district of Komi. Her icon is washed with water from the local river with the help of... grouse feathers! The heroines of the film are nine women of various ages.

The prize FOR THE ACTIVE CIVIC POSITION OF THE ARTIST of the national competition was awarded to director Denis Shabaev with the film "FOLLOW THE SEA". The picture tells women's stories on different shores of the Caspian Sea.

In the nomination FOR BEST PICTURE of the national competition, the movie "CHECHNYA AND PEACE" (directed by Dmitry Semibratov) won. The film focuses on the study of the restoration of the wildlife world on the territory of Chechnya.


Information partners of the festival: Cinema Art, Around the World, Culture, +1 (Plus One), Gorod, Dom.ru, RBC Perm.