The Gorky Fest film festival in Nizhny Novgorod has concluded: how was the closing ceremony

      July 17, 2025, 11:15

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      Culture and Leisure NIА "Nizhny Novgorod" — Polina Zubova

      The "Gor'kiy fest," a festival of new Russian cinema (18+), was held in Nizhny Novgorod for the ninth time. The closing ceremony, as well as the awards for the winners of the competition program, took place on July 16 at the Gorky Drama Theater, reports NIА "Nizhny Novgorod" correspondent.

      The festival's final day, like the opening, began with a red carpet event. Traditionally, the guests and participants of "Gor'kiy fest" were greeted by the festival president and People's Artist of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Porechenkov, and the festival's general producer, director Oksana Mikheeva.

      Mikhail Porechenkov mentioned that each year, the organizers strive to present an interesting and original program. The ninth festival was no exception.

      "Next year, the tenth festival will take place. That date is significant, so we are already starting to get nervous. Everything we're doing this year is really preparation for the tenth. We choose the best works, engage with viewers and colleagues. I think the ninth festival is a serious prelude to the tenth," added Oksana Mikheeva.

      The closing red carpet once again gathered stars from show business and art figures.

      Actor Slava Kopyeykin ("Word of a Kid", 18+) surprised the audience with his appearance. Unlike his colleague Nikita Kologrivoy, who was present at the opening and even hosted it, Kopyeykin willingly gave interviews and took photos with fans. And there were quite a few fans.

      It is worth recalling that the theme of the pre-jubilee festival was avant-garde in cinema and Russian arts. It was timed to the 100th anniversary of the release of Sergei Eisenstein's film "Battleship Potemkin" (0+). Interestingly, Slava Kopyeykin admitted that he generally does not watch avant-garde films, but he has a great respect for this direction in cinema and would be happy to take part in an interesting project, although he has not been invited yet.

      For the first time, another young actor, modest Vlad Konoplev (from the series "The King and the Jester", 18+), also attended and happily took photos with every fan of his work.

      However, the greatest enthusiasm among the audience was caused by Lyudmila Artemyeva. Porechenkov and Mikheeva had to literally "pull" the actress away from the spectators.

      "Without them, none of this would be possible," Artemyeva responded to the organizers, happily taking photos with fans of all ages.

      The festival's jury, filming crews of competition films, and other celebrities also walked the red carpet: Oleg Gaas with his wife Margarita Abroskina, Aleksandra Revenko, Mikhail Troynik, Marina Vorozhishcheva, Alexey Fedorchenko, Andrey Zolotarev, Daniil Steklov, Svetlana Stepankovskaya, Irina Bezrukova, Ksenia Lavrova-Glinka with her family, and many others.

      The hosts of the closing ceremony were brothers Alexey and Alexander Zolotovitsky. From the stage, a message was also read from their father, the famous Soviet and Russian actor Igor Zolotovitsky, who asked his sons "not to joke too much" and "to follow the script."

      By the way, the IX festival attracted 50,000 spectators and garnered 3.3 million views on social media.

      The official part began with the presentation of a special award for the development of Russian cinema. Oksana Mikheeva and Mikhail Porechenkov thanked screenwriter Andrey Zolotarev ("Word of a Kid", 18+, "Ice", 12+) for their contribution to modern cinema.

      The main prize for the Best Film at "Gor'kiy fest" 2025 was awarded to "Kolkandra" by Kirill Verkhozin. The jury unanimously made this decision.

      Closing the festival, Oksana Mikheeva and Mikhail Porechenkov expressed their gratitude to Governor Gleb Nikitin and the Nizhny Novgorod government for their long-term support.

      "And of course, thank you very much to the people and Nizhny. Thank you for watching films, for your interest, for coming. We do this for you," added Porechenkov.

      The organizers concluded the IX festival of new Russian cinema but invited everyone to the anniversary "Gor'kiy fest" next year. The ceremony ended with a screening of the best film of 2025, "Kolkandra."

      Earlier, it was reported that the premiere of the series "Three Sisters" (16+) took place at the film festival in Nizhny Novgorod.

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