Flahertiana Documentary Film Festival presents the program of the International Competition. The organizing committee received 710 applications this year, and also studied the programs of world film festivals. As a result, 12 films shot in 2021 and 2022 in China, Iran, Serbia, Israel, France and other countries were selected.

The program also includes films by authors who filmed in Russia. Ruslan Fedotov's film “Where Are We Headed” is a road movie shot in the Moscow subway reflecting on the path of its passengers in the broadest sense, both geographical and moral. Renato Borraio Serrano, like Ruslan Fedotov, is a director already familiar to the audience of Flahertiana, made his new film “Life of Ivanna” about a woman who led a traditional nomadic life in Siberia with five children, but due to the environmental consequences of climate change, most of her deers died and she had to leave the tundra and start a new life. Evgenia and Maxim Arbugaev will present the film “Haulout” – an observation of a biologist in the Arctic, when he is about to witness a fascinating and at the same time frightening natural phenomenon – the migration of walruses which every year becomes more dangerous for them due to global warming and lack of ice.
 
There are other dramatic stories. “Makeup Artist” from Iran is about a heroine who has to go through fierce family resistance in order to start studying at the university and follow her dream. The film received prizes at IDFA in the Netherlands and a festival in Japan. As always, the audience will witness the life of atypical characters, such as the cow in the film “Vedette” – once the queen of the alpine pastures, she has grown old and is about to be overthrown by her young rivals.
 
There will also be a very personal film “Four Journeys” about the devastating impact of "one-child policy" on the family in China. Director Louis Hothothot was himself an "illegitimate" second child, causing the family's wealth to be destroyed by a hefty fine. Now, looking at that trauma through the lens of the camera, Louis is trying to pull his family out of the experiences of the past. Another story about the painful pages of Chinese history is “After the Rain” telling how, after an earthquake that wiped out a Chinese city, more than six thousand parents decide to “replace” the children they have lost in order to live on.

The winner of the International Competition will receive the Golden Nanook award and a money prize. This year’s nominations also include Best Director and Best Screenplay. The festival will be held from 16 to 22 September with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Perm Territory.

Shortlist of the International Competition of Flahertiana-2022:

After the Rain
Jian Fan, China, 2021
 
Four Journeys
Louis Hothothot, Netherlands, China, 2021
 
Fuku Nashi
Julie Sando, Switzerland, Japan, 2022
 
Haulout
Evgenia Arbugaeva, Maxim Arbugaev, Russia, 2021
 
How to Say Silence
Shir Newman, Israel, 2021

Luminum
Maximiliano Schonfeld, Argentina, 2022

Makeup Artist
Jafar Najafi, Iran, 2021
 
Singing in the Wilderness
Dongnan Chen, China, 2021
 
Things I Could Never Tell My Mother
Humaira Bilkis, Bangladesh, France, 2022
 
Vedette
Claudine Bories, Patrice Chagnard, France, 2021
 
Waiting for Handke
Goran Radovanovic, Serbia, 2021
 
Where Are We Headed
Ruslan Fedotov, Russia, 2021