The cinema of Russia began in the Russian Empire, widely developed in the Soviet Union and in the years following its dissolution, the Russian film industry would remain internationally recognized. In the 21st century, Russian cinema has become known internationally with films such as Hardcore Henry (2015), Leviathan (2014), Night Watch (2004) and Brother (1997). The Moscow International Film Festival began in Moscow in 1935. The Nika Award is the main annual national film award in Russia.
The Open Russian Festival of Animated Films is an annual animation film festival held in Suzdal, Russia. It is devoted to professional appraisal of domestic Russian animation. The festival takes place in late winter or early spring and accepts only animated films from the Russian Federation and from Belarus made in the last three years.
The 12th Open Russian Festival of Animated Film was held from March 1–5, 2007, in Suzdal, Russia. The winners for the main award categories were announced on March 4. The jury consisted of 33 professionals in professions related to animation. The Encyclopedia of Domestic Animation, the first attempt to cover the full history of Russian and Soviet animation, was premiered at the festival.
The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or, and it replaced the Special Jury Prize, which was considered a "second place" award until after this award was introduced.
The Jury Prize is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the third-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or and the Grand Prix, and it was considered a "second place" award until after the latter award was introduced. According to American film critic Dave Kehr, the award is "intended to recognize an original work that embodies the spirit of inquiry."
The Best Director Award is an award presented annually at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given for the best achievement in directing and is chosen by the International Jury from the films in the Competition slate at the festival.
The Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Asian Film Awards Academy to recognise the excellence of the film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.
The 5th Open Russian Festival of Animated Film was held in from Feb. 10-14 in 2000 at a boarding house called "Birch Grove" two kilometres from the town of Tarusa, Russia. Animated works from the past three years from the Russian Federation were accepted. Along with auteur films, commercial reels, music clips and television bumpers were in competition. There was also a two-minute pilot for The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, a feature film finally released in 2004, and Optimus Mundus, a feature film consisting of 50 independently directed short films about Moscow.
The 15th Open Russian Festival of Animated Film was held from Mar. 10-14 2010 in Suzdal, Russia. Animated works from the years 2009-2010 produced by citizens of Russia and Belarus were accepted, as well as works from 2008 that didn't make it into previous festivals.
The 57th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 2009.
The Odesa International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the middle of July in Odesa.
Listapad, also known as Minsk International Film Festival (MIFF) or Minsk International Film Festival Listapad, is an annual film festival which takes place in November in Minsk, Belarus. It is the largest such festival in Belarus.
The 58th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema for the year 2010.
The 59th National Film Awards, presented by the Directorate of Film Festivals, honoured the best of Indian cinema for 2011 and took place on 3 May 2012 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Awards were presented in 38 categories in the Feature Films section, 20 categories in the Non-Feature Films section and two categories for the Best Writing on Cinema section; 41 jury members chose the winners from 392 entries. The ceremony was hosted by actors Vinay Pathak and Saumya Tandon. Awards were presented by the Vice-President of India, Mohammad Hamid Ansari. The ceremony was broadcast live on three television channels, eleven All India Radio stations, and webcast live.
The Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF) is a festival organized in the city of Mumbai by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. It was started in 1990, and focuses on documentary, short fiction and animation films.
Italy participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Grande amore", written by Ciro Esposito and Francesco Boccia. The song was performed by the male operatic pop trio Il Volo. Italian broadcaster RAI announced in September 2014 that the winning performer(s) of the Sanremo Music Festival 2015 would have the right to represent the nation at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. The selected performer would also be given the right to choose their own song to compete with at Eurovision. In February 2015, Il Volo emerged as the winners of Sanremo with the song "Grande amore". The trio accepted the invitation to represent Italy at Eurovision and decided that "Grande amore" would be their contest entry.
Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Play" written by Fred Krieger, Stig Rästa and Vallo Kikas. The song was performed by Jüri Pootsmann. The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) organised the national final Eesti Laul 2016 in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. The national final consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Ten songs competed in each semi-final and the top five from each semi-final as determined by a jury panel and public vote qualified to the final. In the final, the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, "Play" performed by Jüri Pootsmann was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote.
Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "You Are the Only One" written by Philipp Kirkorov, Dimitris Kontopoulos, John Ballard and Ralph Charlie. The song was performed by Sergey Lazarev who was internally selected by the Russian broadcaster All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) to compete at the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Lazarev's appointment as the Russian representative was announced on 10 December 2015, while the song, "You Are the Only One", was presented to the public on 5 March 2016.
Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Verona" written by Sven Lõhmus. The song was performed by Koit Toome, who had previously represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 where he placed twelfth with the song "Mere lapsed", and Laura, who had previously represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 as part of the group Suntribe where she failed to qualify to the final with the song "Let's Get Loud". The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) organised the national final Eesti Laul 2017 in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. The national final consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Ten songs competed in each semi-final and the top five from each semi-final as determined by a jury panel and public vote qualified to the final. In the final, the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the super final. In the super final, "Verona" performed by Koit Toome and Laura was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote.
The Ensor Award is an accolade presented by the Ensor Academy of Belgium to recognize cinematic achievement in the film industry and is the highest film honour in the Flemish speaking part of the country. Named after James Ensor, it is the successor of the Joseph Plateau Award that honoured films from the entire country. Since its discontinuation, the Magritte Awards are given to French speaking movies, while the Ensors honour Flemish productions.
