Cooperation between Russia and India in cinematography was discussed at the Spirit of Fire Film Festival

India has been invited as the first country in the official guest status this year. As part of the business program, a film dialogue "Russia – India. Points of intersection of mutual interests", focused on industrial cooperation.

"Russia has long-standing friendly ties with India. This year, the organizers of the Spirit of Fire festival set out to attract specialists in the field of the film industry and ethnic cinema to develop cooperation and international partnerships. The concluded intergovernmental agreement on joint film production will allow us to create effective joint projects," said Anton Kobyakov, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation.

The Governor of Ugra Natalia Komarova took part in the discussions of the business program on uniting the modern audience of the two countries, creating the basis for future Russian-Indian films and business opportunities for interaction between the film industries.

"The Spirit of Fire Film Festival is one of the basic brands that are known and recognized in the world. We are doing everything to maximize its recognition. We are also actively expanding the region's capabilities in the field of cinema and film production. We are creating a support system for these projects and new programs for the development of young talents. Of course, we study and use the experience of other countries and regions, and thus, in our opinion, we are going to develop our own festival offer. This year we have placed great emphasis on the film dialogue with India, the guest country of our film festival," Natalia Komarova said.

Within the framework of the business program, the prospects of co-production and the exchange of experience in the creation of international projects were discussed. The plenary session "Cinema of Tomorrow: Partnership of Industries and Ethno-cultural Diversity" was attended by Executive Director of the Producers Guild of India Nitin Teja Ahuja and Cultural Attache of the Embassy of India in Russia Purpa Tsering. In the session "Ethnic cinema with an Arctic flavor. Modern Miracle" was attended by the president of the Pune Festival Jabbar Patel. In the film catalog "Russia – India. Points of intersection of mutual interests" speakers were the famous film producer Vikramjit Roy and the CEO of the film company India Taka One Pravesh Sahni.

"With special gratitude I would like to address the organizers of the festival and our new friends. Today, the site of the Spirit of Fire festival demonstrates its hospitality to those who are trying their hand at the cinema industry for the first time. I am sure that the unique national traditions of Russia and India will contribute to the mutually beneficial development of ethnic cinema as an important sector of creative industries," said Nitin Teja Ahuja, Executive Director of the Producers Guild of India.

"Thanks to the business program of the festival, we managed to hold a fruitful cinematic dialogue on the formation of an ecosystem for the successful growth of the creative potential of young talents who seek to emphasize the identity of indigenous peoples. "Spirit of Fire" has become a new point of contact between the Russian and Indian film industries. Joint content development for a modern audience will contribute to the development of intercultural cooperation," said Vikramjit Roy, an independent development consultant with experience in the subject area in establishing global cooperation.

The Roscongress Foundation acted as a communication partner of the XXI International Festival of film debuts "Spirit of Fire".