The opening ceremony took place in the Palace of Culture DK Kirova in the centre of the city. Thousands of people gathered downtown to greet guests of the festival. The latter were arriving in fancy cars to go up the blue 17-meter carpet.
The Polar Lights Film Festival is a big event in the cultural life of Murmansk and is reported to be the most awaited event of the year. It gathered prominent Russian stage and cinema actors and world-famous film directors.
The international jury is headed by the outstanding film director Knut Erik Jensen, Norwegian Tarkovsky, as they call him.
The programme includes 14 films in competition presented by Norway, Sweden, Finland, Canada, USA, Iceland and Russia. The remaining 17 films are appearing out of competition. All films are screened in local cinemas for free.
The House of the Branching Love by Mika Kaurismaki (Finland) was chosen as the opening film of the festival.
The famous film director from Poland Kshishtof Zanussi says the festival has all chances for a big future.
– Big cities destroy festivals. Cannes is much smaller than Murmansk. Nevertheless everyone is there. It is not the size of the city that matters, it is the audience that creates success of the festival. During the opening ceremony Kshishtof Zanussi was awarded prize for his input into the world cinematography.
The Polar Lights festival runs until the 29 May. It is supported by the Ministry of foreign Affairs of Russia along with Ministry of Culture.
