The winners of the IX Gorky Fest film festival were announced in Nizhny Novgorod.

      NI "Nizhny Novgorod" - Polina Zubova

      The IX Festival of New Russian Cinema "Gorky Fest" (18+), held annually in Nizhny Novgorod, has concluded. On July 16, at the closing ceremony, the winners of the competition program and the laureates of special awards were announced, reports NIA "Nizhny Novgorod".

      The competition program consisted of 19 feature-length, short fiction, and documentary films.

      The jury for 2025 included director Alexey German Jr. ("Air", 18+, "Dovlatov", 18+), screenwriter Darya Gratsevich ("Kholop", 18+, "Kholop 2", 12+), producer Alexander Plotnikov ("You All Annoy Me", 18+, "Pavel. First and Last", 18+), composer Artem Vasilyev ("World Champion", 18+, "Ekipazh", 6+), film critic Yegor Moskvitin, and actress Olga Sutulova ("Cicadas", 18+, "Alibi", 18+).

      The award ceremony began with a special prize for contribution to the development of domestic cinema, presented by the festival president, People's Artist of Russia Mikhail Porechenkov, and the festival's general producer, director Oksana Mikheeva, to screenwriter Andrey Zolotarev ("The Boy's Word", 18+, "Ice", 12+).

      Next, a special prize from the International Society "Fishermen and Hunters" was announced. For bravery and originality in cinema art, the film "Warm Life" (12+) by director Nikita Zhuravlev received the award, along with a monetary reward of 1 million rubles, presented by society's CEO Alexander Bondar and Supreme Council member Denis Kazansky.

      The viewer's choice award "People's Choice" was given to the film "Thank You. Good Evening!" (16+) by Konstantin Deniskin.

      The main awards in the primary categories began with the best musical solution, awarded by composer Artem Vasilyev. The prize went to the film "The End of Ends" (18+) by Anton Bilzho and Alfiya Khabibullina.

      In the category of "Best Visual Solution," the victory was claimed by "The Cliff" (16+) by Semyon Gritsay.

      Screenwriter Darya Gratsevich announced the winner for "Best Dramaturgy." The winner was Valery Pereverzev's film "Shadows of Moscow" (16+).

      Actress Olga Sutulova presented the award for the best acting performance. The winner was Oleg Vykhodov for his role in the film "Fence" (16+) directed by Lev Yevlampeev.

      In the "Best Director" category, the winning film was "Fragile" (12+) by Maxim Anshin.

      The jury also recognized the film "Reality Not Needed. Eastern Siberian Punk" (18+) by Pavel Skorobogatov with a diploma.

      The grand prize of the IX "Gorky Fest" was unanimously awarded to the film "Kolkhandra" (0+) directed by Kirill Verhozin. The story centers on 12-year-old girl Aglaya, who in the village makes her own film based on her novel about a fictional country called Kolkhandra.

      "I want to testify that the atmosphere, the huge desire for creativity, some selflessness in art, and childish perseverance are brilliantly, very professionally, and very touchingly captured in the film," said Darya Gratsevich as she announced the winner.

      Kirill Verhozin admitted that this was his first major festival and shared the internal struggles he faced during filming.

      "Last summer, when I went to this village, I borrowed money from my brother. Maxim, thank you. And while I was living there, with my characters, I woke up every day, and a little voice inside kept saying, 'Kirill, what a nonsense you're doing. Why are you even walking around the village with kids? It's pointless; you should be making a proper film and earning money. Why do you need this?' But every day I still woke up and went to shoot. I looked at Aglaya (the main character in the film - ed.), as she made her own film, and understood that I had to be like her — fight and break through that wall. That’s why I fought and kept filming," shared the winner.

      The director thanked his loved ones, mentors, and colleagues. He mentioned that he experienced moments of despair with this film, as he received many rejections from other festivals and producers.

      "I want to wish everyone to keep fighting because someday that tiny crack will appear," Verhozin concluded his speech.

      It was previously reported that NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" correspondent attended the festival’s closing and found out which celebrities had arrived in Nizhny Novgorod.

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