The Tsiolkovsky International Space Film Festival will take place in Kaluga from April 12 to 16, with its main venue at the State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky.
On April 8, a press conference dedicated to the anniversary edition of the festival was held at the press center of TASS, the festival’s key media partner. This year, TASS General Director Andrey Kondrashov will serve as one of the festival’s jury members.
Igor Ugolnikov, President of the Tsiolkovsky Film Festival and People's Artist of Russia, reminded attendees that the fifth edition of the festival is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s birth, as well as to Soviet and Russian cosmonauts. He announced that the festival program will include meetings with active cosmonauts, featuring Anna Kikina, Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin, Oleg Artemyev, and Anton Shkaplerov.
Ugolnikov also noted that the festival logo is based on a drawing by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, colored in hues representing Earth's continents. He highlighted the festival’s main awards, including the Grand Prix "Tsiolkovsky" for the best film, the Grand Prix "Korolev" for the best director, the Grand Prix "Kluschansev" for best computer graphics, and for the first time in 2024, the Grand Prix "Gagarin," which will be awarded for the best Russian space-related film.
Emphasizing the festival’s international reach, Ugolnikov stated that space is beyond politics, a shared space for the entire planet, for all continents, and for all people living on Earth.
Irina Khvorostyanaya, Director of Internal and External Communications at Roscosmos, spoke about the state corporation’s support for the festival, calling it an opportunity to showcase Roscosmos' contributions to the country and to history. The festival’s program includes two Roscosmos films: "The Fire of My Soul," about Valentina Tereshkova, and "The Ruler of the Rocket World," about Vladimir Utkin. She stressed the importance of telling the story of the nation’s great space legacy, recalling an era when space was not just a dream but a national idea of a great country, and highlighted the significance of fostering patriotism and national pride.
Igor Prokopenko, the documentary film program director, journalist, and writer, highlighted the diversity of countries participating in the festival and the selection of documentary films in competition. He noted that the documentary program covers the past, present, and future of space exploration and invited audiences to the screenings. He emphasized that the documentary section is scientifically and expertly curated, thanks to collaborations with Roscosmos and leading scientists, including astrophysicist Oleg Ugolnikov.
Irina Soshnikova, the festival’s program director for feature films and animation, shared details about the fictional and animated film sections. This year’s festival features six full-length feature films from Romania, Italy, Russia, South Korea, India, Hungary, and Slovakia. Short films are grouped into thematic screenings, such as "Space Within Us" and "Artificial Intelligence." The festival will also showcase 42 animated short films, categorized for children, school students, and older audiences. "Passenger and Ganory" is the only full-length animated film in the competition, submitted from Iran.
Andrey Baturin, President of the Eurasian Composers' Union, introduced the new music competition at the festival. This year, the festival includes vocal and symphonic compositions, with about 85 submissions. Five finalists were selected in the vocal category, and two in the symphonic music category.
Summing up the press conference, Igor Ugolnikov announced that over 3,000 registrations had already been made for festival events, predicting a large turnout. The closing ceremony will be traditionally hosted by Honored Artists of Russia Alexander Oleshko and Nonna Grishaeva, while the opening ceremony on Cosmonautics Day will be led by Igor Ugolnikov and Igor Prokopenko.
The V Tsiolkovsky International Space Film Festival in 2024 is supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, State Corporation Roscosmos, the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center Research Institute, Rossotrudnichestvo, the Government and Ministry of Culture of the Kaluga Region, the State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky, the Russian Planetarium Association, and other public and commercial organizations. The festival’s media partners include Roscosmos Media and TRK NIKA. The key media partner is TASS.
On April 8, a press conference dedicated to the anniversary edition of the festival was held at the press center of TASS, the festival’s key media partner. This year, TASS General Director Andrey Kondrashov will serve as one of the festival’s jury members.
Igor Ugolnikov, President of the Tsiolkovsky Film Festival and People's Artist of Russia, reminded attendees that the fifth edition of the festival is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s birth, as well as to Soviet and Russian cosmonauts. He announced that the festival program will include meetings with active cosmonauts, featuring Anna Kikina, Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin, Oleg Artemyev, and Anton Shkaplerov.
Ugolnikov also noted that the festival logo is based on a drawing by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, colored in hues representing Earth's continents. He highlighted the festival’s main awards, including the Grand Prix "Tsiolkovsky" for the best film, the Grand Prix "Korolev" for the best director, the Grand Prix "Kluschansev" for best computer graphics, and for the first time in 2024, the Grand Prix "Gagarin," which will be awarded for the best Russian space-related film.
Emphasizing the festival’s international reach, Ugolnikov stated that space is beyond politics, a shared space for the entire planet, for all continents, and for all people living on Earth.
Irina Khvorostyanaya, Director of Internal and External Communications at Roscosmos, spoke about the state corporation’s support for the festival, calling it an opportunity to showcase Roscosmos' contributions to the country and to history. The festival’s program includes two Roscosmos films: "The Fire of My Soul," about Valentina Tereshkova, and "The Ruler of the Rocket World," about Vladimir Utkin. She stressed the importance of telling the story of the nation’s great space legacy, recalling an era when space was not just a dream but a national idea of a great country, and highlighted the significance of fostering patriotism and national pride.
Igor Prokopenko, the documentary film program director, journalist, and writer, highlighted the diversity of countries participating in the festival and the selection of documentary films in competition. He noted that the documentary program covers the past, present, and future of space exploration and invited audiences to the screenings. He emphasized that the documentary section is scientifically and expertly curated, thanks to collaborations with Roscosmos and leading scientists, including astrophysicist Oleg Ugolnikov.
Irina Soshnikova, the festival’s program director for feature films and animation, shared details about the fictional and animated film sections. This year’s festival features six full-length feature films from Romania, Italy, Russia, South Korea, India, Hungary, and Slovakia. Short films are grouped into thematic screenings, such as "Space Within Us" and "Artificial Intelligence." The festival will also showcase 42 animated short films, categorized for children, school students, and older audiences. "Passenger and Ganory" is the only full-length animated film in the competition, submitted from Iran.
Andrey Baturin, President of the Eurasian Composers' Union, introduced the new music competition at the festival. This year, the festival includes vocal and symphonic compositions, with about 85 submissions. Five finalists were selected in the vocal category, and two in the symphonic music category.
Summing up the press conference, Igor Ugolnikov announced that over 3,000 registrations had already been made for festival events, predicting a large turnout. The closing ceremony will be traditionally hosted by Honored Artists of Russia Alexander Oleshko and Nonna Grishaeva, while the opening ceremony on Cosmonautics Day will be led by Igor Ugolnikov and Igor Prokopenko.
The V Tsiolkovsky International Space Film Festival in 2024 is supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives, State Corporation Roscosmos, the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center Research Institute, Rossotrudnichestvo, the Government and Ministry of Culture of the Kaluga Region, the State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky, the Russian Planetarium Association, and other public and commercial organizations. The festival’s media partners include Roscosmos Media and TRK NIKA. The key media partner is TASS.