‘Northern Character: INCulture’ International Art and Cinema Forum Concludes in Murmansk

The ‘Northern Character: INCulture’ International Art and Film Forum, which aims to help people with disabilities showcase their creative abilities, has concluded in Murmansk. The Forum included a film festival, discussions, roundtables, master classes, and exhibitions of paintings by artists from Russia and Sweden.

The film festival’s competition programme, whose films shine light on the problem of inclusiveness, featured 14 works from different genres, with the winners being chosen by the audience. The grand prix of the film festival was awarded to a film directed by Anton Bogdanov called Only I am Normal. The film festival was won by Swedish director Valentina Svensson’s documentary film The Universe – Sergey Basalaev.

During a panel discussion, experts stressed that people with disabilities should be given every opportunity to gain expertise and professional skills that will help them realize their potential and fully take part in the daily life of society.

The Forum was organized by Northern Character Producer’s Centre with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund, the Murmansk Region Government, Sweden’s WEBBON, and the Swedish Institute.

In addition to the Forum, the Northern Character Producer’s Centre holds the ‘Northern Character’ International Film Festival and the ‘Northern Character: Green Screen’ International Environmental and Social Film Festival, which are part of the cultural programme of Russia’s Chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023. The Roscongress Foundation managers the events of the chairmanship.