The Baikal International Film Festival for documentary, popular science and educational films “People and Environment", has been held in the Irkutsk region since 1999, and annually since 2007.
The film festival “People and Environment” was established by the Russian Filmmakers Union and the East-Siberian branch of the Russian Filmmakers Union, and is supported by the Russian Ministry of Culture and the Government of the Irkutsk Region.
Documentaries and animated films participate in the festival.
The panel judges films in the following nomination categories:
- The festival Grand-Prix
- Best documentary
- Best popular science film
- Best educational film
- Best film for children
The festival has a number of special categories: a prize awarded by the student panel, the prize of the Internet community, the media community prize, the prize for best video clip, and the prize for best animated film. The award for public recognition, ‘Baikal’, is awarded to the best film about the most significant environmental problems.
In addition to the competition program, there are non-competitive screenings; the film festival’s opening screening, and a special viewing. Traditionally, the festival holds meetings and discussions with the authors of the films, workshops led by masters of documentary filmmaking, round table discussions and public events.
This festival of "pure cinema", held on the banks of the cleanest lake on the planet, seeks to bring public attention to the problems of the relationship between mankind and the environment.
Since the founding of “People and Environment”, over 350 films from 38 countries have appeared in the festival competition program.
Over the years, the chairmen of the judging panel have included the following:
- Georgiy Nagashev - a well-known documentary filmmaker based in Yekaterinburg, president of the Open Film Festival "Russia";
- Lev Nikolayev, twice winner of the State Prize of the Russian Federation, member of the Academy of Natural Sciences and a member of the Academy of Russian TV, president of the television company "Civilization";
- Victor Kosakovsky, a documentary filmmaker from St Petersburg, laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation, Member of the European Film Academy, winner of the "Triumph" and "Nika" awards, winner of over a hundred prizes at international film festivals.
The first chairman and creative founder of the film festival “People and Environment” is Vladimir Samoylichenko (now the Honorary President of the Festival).
The current President (since 2011) of the festival "People and Environment" is Sergei Miroshnichenko, famous Russian documentarian, distinguished artist of the Russian Federation, member of the Academy of Russian Television, laureate of the State Prize of Russia, Secretary of the Russian Filmmakers Union, Professor at the Institute of Cinematography (where he leads workshops on directing documentary films), and director of the studio "Island". He is the author of 18 films, the winner of two "Nika" awards, a TEFI award, and an ‘Emmy’ (American Television Academy"). Among his classic works of contemporary documentary films include "George Zhzhenov. Russian Cross ", "Solzhenitsyn. Life is not a lie ", "The unknown Putin. Peace and War", "Murder of the Emperor. Accounts ", "Born in the USSR ", and "Valery Gergiev. Twilight of the Gods". His documentary "River of Life" is dedicated to Irkutsk writer Valentin Rasputin.
