The Kazan Muslim Film Festival can be considered the successor of the Golden Minbar International Film Festival. It was founded in 2004 in Moscow as an international forum for Muslim filmmakers. The festival was held in Kazan every year from 2005 to 2009.
Following a conflict between Moscow-based festival directors and Kazan-based team of organizers, the latter took over the event and rebranded is as the Kazan International Festival of Muslim Cinema. The first festival under the new name took place in 2010. It was supported by the President of Tatarstan, the City of Kazan, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Grand Mufti of Tatarstan.
The motto of the festival is “To the dialogue of cultures through the culture of dialogue”. It reflects its main goal, which is to promote universal cultural and moral values, as well as to form an objective view of Muslims and Islam both in Russia and internationally.
Although the Kazan International Festival of Muslim Cinema was originally conceived as a platform for Muslim filmmakers, the religious affiliation of filmmakers who submit their works isn’t taken into account during the selection process. What matters is that their films promote the ideas of tolerance and peacemaking, as well as the ways to build constructive multicultural dialogue.
The Kazan Muslim Film Festival hosts a film competition. The jury presents ten prizes in main competition categories (Best Feature Film, Best Animated Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Script, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Short Film, Best Documentary, Best Documentary Short). Besides, special prizes are presented by various organizations.
Alongside the film competition, the program of the festival includes non-competition and special screenings, ceremonies, public discussions, creative meetings, conferences, concerts, Muslim fashion shows, and other events and activities for cinema-goers and industry professionals alike.
Photo: kazan-mfmk.com
