The film 'Wata' by Uzbek director Rashid Malikov won the 'Best Feature Film' award at the tenth International 'Eurasian Bridge' Film Festival, which took place in Moscow from October 5 to 9.
The film's plot tells the story of a woman who faces a number of difficulties and tries to find new meaning in life. Malikov noted that he highly values the recognition received from the audience and the jury, emphasizing that after completing work on the film, the creators can no longer control how viewers interpret the story.
The director also expressed gratitude to the entire film crew, including actors, producers, cinematographers, production designer, and composers, stating that he shares this award with all project participants. In Malikov's opinion, cinema has a unique ability to unite people from different cultures, language groups, and countries, which is one of the greatest strengths of this medium.
Other awards and festival participants
In the 'Best Director' category, the Russian film 'On the Edge of Childhood' received an award from Vladimir Zakarenko. A special mention was given in the feature film category to Vietnamese director Leon Lee for his film 'Ky Nam Small Restaurant'. In the documentary film competition, the main prize was won by Yulia Boikova's film 'Angelic Rank', dedicated to the Novodevichy Convent and women devoted to religious service.
A special mention in the documentary competition went to the Turkish film 'Post-Truth' by Alkan Avcioglu, which was created entirely using artificial intelligence.
The tenth session of the festival featured nine feature films and nine documentaries from fourteen countries. Screenings took place at the 'Illusion' cinema and venues of the 'Moskino' cinema network. The jury for the feature film competition consisted of directors Yusup Razikov and Lam Thanh Chao, as well as producer and screenwriter Maria Borodiankaya.
The 'Eurasian Bridge' Festival has been held since 2016 with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Russia. The initial idea for the festival was proposed by Nikita Mikhalkov in 2014 during the presentation of his film 'Sunstroke.'