The format of this year's event will change, but not its essence. As always, "On the Edge. West" will call on teenagers and cover the topics of coming of age and feature the main program along with several special ones.

This time, the festival will be focused on the issue of family relationships, the special value of family ties in dark times, the need for mutual support and an open conversation between parents and their growing children. It's a truly universal theme that has always concerned directors and viewers anywhere in the world. In addition, it perfectly meets the current demands of the Russian teenage audience, as the grownup children have found themselves in a state of complete confusion triggered by the uncertainty of their future.

As is the tradition, two juries will judge the main program – a teenage panel consisting of the winners of the creative competition for students aged 13-17, and a teachers' jury made up of the Kaliningrad school teachers. However, the main and the most objective prize, the Audience Choice Award, will be determined by the viewers' vote. The audience will be able to choose a film from any of the festival's programs.

Locals will also get a chance to see a retrospective paying tribute to the memory of the legendary Russian director Sergei Solovyov who had created several great films focused on the topic of coming of age. The retrospective is presented by a new partner of the festival, the State Tretyakov Gallery. The program includes The Lifeguard, One Hundred Days after Childhood, Wild Pigeon, and Take a Look at the Face (written by Sergei Solovyov).

For modern-day teenagers, these films will be a reflection of their parents' lives back when they were at an impressionable age, asking themselves many of the same questions that concern the adolescents of today. The retrospective will culminate in a screening of Assa, the anthem of Generation X. Even today, the film's demand for change resonates with the hearts of the younger generation. Tatyana Drubich, the movie's lead actress, will present the film that will have turned 35 by the time the Festival opens.

During the III Kaliningrad International Film Festival "On the Edge. West," the local branch of the State Tretyakov Gallery will organize an educational program for children and their parents. The Gallery will partner up with Project Cartonia, an international creative agency bringing to life the most extravagant concepts of organizing public spaces and events – from decorations to city parades, from children's celebrations to exhibitions.

Creative workshops and laboratories for local children and teenagers, which have gained an instant popularity in the city and the Kaliningrad region, remain an essential part of the Festival. At these labs, children can study the basics of cinematography, animation, and documentary filmmaking throughout the school year. Five have workshops opened in Kaliningrad in the autumn of 2021.
One of the children animation workshops has already finished the production of two cartoons, and the participants are getting ready to embark on a big new project. The animation lab for older children has held four filming sessions this year. Together with the curators, children are producing an animation film based on Andrei Bitov's novel Birds, or the New Information about Man, with each participant contributing to the script and the storyboard while learning to use graphics programs.

In the film lab, young locals work on their first projects focused on the topics close to their heart. At the producer's workshop, children and curators create their own film program together, while the participants of the documentary filmmaking workshop prepare an almanac of short films made in the 'I-movie' genre, better known as 'first-person documentaries.'
For all workshops and labs, the festival week will be the final one, and young cinematographers, animators, documentary filmmakers, and producers will have a chance to present their work to the audience on the big screen of the Zarya Theatre. In the three years since the launch of the Festival, such screenings have usually been the most popular and anticipated. They are the emotional and semantic centerpiece of the festival, the basis of its entire creative value.

The list of films and the screening schedule will be published on the Festival website shortly. You can access all the Festival events free of charge by booking a ticket at kassir.ru

International Film Festival "On the Edge. West" The official Festival website: http://kaliningradfilmfestival.ru
News available at – https://vk.com/kraysveta__zapad https://t.me/kraysveta_zapad , а также https://vk.com/festdir
For media requests please contact Elena Slatina +7 925 502 35 25