Expert Council for Baikal Film Project Pitching Announced, Chaired by Dmitry Yakunin

The 25 Baikal International Film Festival “People and Environment” named after V.G. Rasputin will take place in Irkutsk from September 14 to 22. As part of the festival, young directors, screenwriters, and producers will present their film projects at the 12th Baikal Film Project Pitching. The organizers will announce the shortlist on August 31. Five projects will be selected in each of two categories: fiction and documentary.

The project presentations will take place on September 15 in the Grand Hall of the House of Cinema. The winners will be announced on September 16 at the opening ceremony of the 25th Baikal International Film Festival “People and Environment” named after V.G. Rasputin at the Barguzin Cinema.

This year’s Expert Council comprises the following film professionals:

Dmitry Yakunin (Chairman) — producer, executive director of the Youth Center of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation; deputy executive director of the Regional Cinema Support Fund, general producer of the “MovieStart” Production Center (Moscow);

Olga Belskaya — documentary filmmaker, journalist, educator, chairperson of the Irkutsk Regional Branch of the All-Russian Public Organization “Union of Cinematographers of Russia” (Irkutsk);

Tatiana Matveeva — editor-in-chief of the Editorial Department at the Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “Institute for Internet Development” (Moscow);

Olga Martynova — producer, CEO of “Pervoe kino. Baikal” LLC, director of the Eastern Siberian Cinema Support Foundation “Matyora,” member of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, associate professor, head of the producing workshops at the Irkutsk branch of VGIK (Irkutsk);

Dina Podprugina-Zamalieva — head of the Representative Office of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Buryatia, film producer, deputy director of the Center for Creative Industries (Ulan-Ude);

Yury Yashnikov — film director, producer, founder of “Gaidai Center,” member of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia (Irkutsk).

The pitching will be moderated by Margarita Ushakova (Irkutsk) — a psychologist, narrative practitioner, Candidate of Sciences in Psychology, and moderator of film screenings at the Baikal International Film Festival “People and Environment.”

The 25th Baikal International Film Festival “People and Environment” named after V.G. Rasputin (25th BIFF “People and Environment”) is supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Irkutsk Region, and the Ministry of Culture of the Irkutsk Region. The festival’s principal partner is the Irkutsk Oil Company.