The organisers of the 8th International Film Festival of Arctic Countries, Arctic Open, which will take place from 5 to 8 December in the Arkhangelsk Region, told TASS that about 3,000 applications from 106 countries have been received. Most applications are from Russia, with many participants also from Iran, India, Turkey, Brazil and the USA.

The short film competition has received the most applications, with 1,700 entries. There are 553 documentaries and 272 full-length feature films. The festival directorate has created a separate category for children's and youth films, which received 281 applications.

From all the submitted films, about 50 will be selected for the Arctic Open competition. In addition to the competitive works, festival participants can expect an extensive non-competitive film programme.

'We will announce which films have been shortlisted for the Arctic Open 2024 competition programme on 10 November. The retrospective screening programme will feature films by Swedish director Gunilla Breski, who has often said: "It was Russia that made me a director." In April 1996, Gunilla came to our country to work—to make films. Arkhangelsk was the first city where she began to acquaint herself with Russia and its people. This is where she shot her first documentary, Little Katya,' Anzhelika Dolinina, the festival's programme director, told TASS.

Russia became one of Breski's main filming locations, with the Great Patriotic War becoming the central theme in her work. The retrospective will also include the Russian premiere of Gunilla Breski's film We Are Still Here.

Image attribution: Shutterstock