Kazan Film Festival Inspires Dialogue between Cultures

The Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, scheduled for Sept. 5-11, has been organized in the Republic of Tatarstan’s capital city Kazan since 2005. The first festival was initiated by the Russian Council of Muftis, the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography of Russia and the Tatarstani Culture Ministry with the support of the Tatarstani presidency. The motto of the festival is: “To the dialogue of cultures through the culture of dialogue.” Its aim is to provide workers in the culture and art fields, a chance to exchange experiences as well as recognize the creative achievements of Muslim cinematographers and representatives of other religious affiliations who make films popularizing cultural traditions, and spiritual and moral values. It also aims to promote the positive aspects of Islam and Muslims to the rest of the world, especially the Russian community. Forty films from 12 countries were selected for the first festival, while 400 films from 67 countries were sent to this year’s festival.