The inaugural Documentary Film Festival Artdocfest took place in Moscow in 2007. It was founded by the Union of Filmmakers of the Russian Federation, the board of directors of the Laurel Branch Award (Russia’s national award for non-feature films and documentary television), and Ukrainian-born documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky, who was working in Russia at the time.
In the next few years, Artdocfest grew to become the largest documentary film festival in the former Soviet Union, both in terms of entries and screenings, and the volume of the professional and business program, as well as the one of the most prestigious film festival in Russia.
After the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014, Mansky signed an open letter titled “We are with you!” to support Ukrainian filmmakers and the people of Ukraine. Due to Mansky’s political stance, Russian Minster of Culture Vladimir Medinsky prohibited any state support for Artdocfest and related projects. Mansky moved to Latvia, where Artdocfest joined the Riga International Film Festival as its documentary session.
In 2018, the festival’s competition program was transferred to the Latvian capital. In 2020, the Riga edition of Artdocfest was officially relaunched as the International Documentary Film Festival Artdocfest/Riga.
Despite a lack of support from the government, the festival grew in Russia as well; parallel screenings were held in Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. The situation changed for the worse 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the eve of the festival’s opening in Moscow, it was canceled by the authorities, and Mansky was sprayed with paint because of his anti-war views, allegedly by activists of a pro-government far-right movement. After the incident, Mansky announced that Artdocfest would not be held in Russia anymore, at least under the current regime.
And so the IDFF Artdocfest/Riga became the main Artdocfest event. In 2024, the festival expanded to Tbilisi with special film screenings. The program of the first Artdocfest in Tbilisi included documentaries by Vitaly Mansky and Yevhen Titarenko, Angie Vinchito, Elina Lange-Ionatamishvili, Vitaiy Akimov, Marianna Kaat, and Stanislav Tokalov.
Artdocfest prides itself on screening the most innovative documentary films which often defy traditional formats and genres. Alongside the main competition program, the festival hosts non-competition screenings (opening film, special screenings and programs) and industry events such as round table discussions, forums and pitching sessions. The festival also has an online program targeted at Russian-speaking viewers around the globes who are concerned about the political and social processes in Eastern European and former Soviet countries.
Photo: artdocfest.com
