The first Film Festival of the republic titled ‘Cinema of the Arctic’ was held in September 2011. Many well-known Russian filmmakers attended, such as the director and producer Sergei Selyanov, screenwriter, actress and director Renata Litvinova, sound engineer Aliakper Hasan Zadeh, film critics Anton Dolin and Sergey Anashkin. After the festival federal mass media released series of publications and started numerous discussions about the phenomenon of Sakha filmmaking and attracted a lot of attention to the Yakutian cinema internationally. The ‘Cinema of the Arctic’ was the starting point in the organization of the Yakutsk International Film Festival.
The first annual Yakutsk International Film Festival was held in August 2013, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Russian Cinematographers’ Union.
The Yakutsk International Film Festival is held in order to develop cultural exchange and creative collaboration between filmmakers from all over the world and aimed to improve the overall image of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Main idea of the festival is the integration of Yakutian cinema in the Russian and world film industry. President of the Yakutsk International Film Festival is the CEO of Lenfilm studio Mr. Eduard Pichugin.

Awards

The logo and the main prize of the Yakutsk International Film Festival are the snow goggles. The goggles are made of silver with a splash of zirconium in the form of the Big Dipper and a diamond that symbolizes the Northern Star.
A long time ago, people who lived in the Far North invented goggles that could protect their eyes from blindness caused by the bright sun rays that reflected on the snow. The first snow goggles were made of tree bark or bones, with narrow slits for looking.
The reason why goggles became the symbol and logo of the festival is because it was an essential item of daily life and traditional culture of the Yakutian people. Also the goggles are a symbol of visual arts and a part of continuous technological progress in film industry, like the development of 3D-cinema.
The jury will be awarding the following prizes:
Main Competition / Documentary Films Competition:
Golden Snow Goggles:

• Best Film (awarded to the producer or the director);
• Best Director;

Silver Snow Goggles:

•  two Special Prizes of the Jury (title of the special prize is renewed every year depending on the jury, prizes are awarded upon the decision of the jury).

The Audience Award for the best Yakut film released between September 2017 and September 2018 is given to the winners of an online vote (joker.ykt.ru) in the following categories:

• Golden Snow Goggles:
  Best Yakutian Movie (awarded to the producer or the director).
• Silver Snow Goggles:
  Two special jury prizes – (the name is determined by the jury annually; the prizes are awarded based on the jury’s decision).

Rules

• Films made after January 1, 2018
• Preference is given to films that touch upon the subject of national culture in the modern world.

Subtitles: English, Russian

Premiere Requirements

No premiere requirement

Jury and Organizers

YIFF is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Russian Cinematographers’ Union.