The 34th Window to Europe festival of Russian cinema opened in Vyborg on August 4, 2026, featuring 40 competition films selected from both experienced directors and debutants. Organizers announced that the lineup includes 10 feature films, 10 documentaries, and 20 animated works.
Festival program director Andrei Apostolov characterized the feature film competition as maintained in classic proportions. He said the selection includes four debut works, four clear genre films, two pictures with Saint Petersburg flavor, and a mandatory entry from Yakutia.
Screenings began ahead of the August 4 opening ceremony with Daria Charusha's dramedy It's All Her. The film centers on 30-year-old Vasya, who experiences a deep inner crisis and sets out to find her childhood love. Marina Vasilyeva, Anastasiya Belova, Nikita Efremov, and Nikolai Shraiber star in the main roles. Producer Ruben Dishdishyan described the movie as a relatable comedy and said the team was glad to premiere it at the festival.
Jury and Competition Lineup
People's Artist of Russia and director Pavel Lungin leads the feature film jury. He serves alongside cinematographer and director Sergei Mokritsky, screenwriter Savva Minaev, Okko general producer Gavriil Gordeev, actress Sofya Lebedeva, and other experts. Director and producer Angelina Ashman, whose film Kresty became the first Russian project in the Netflix catalog, heads the documentary jury. Space Dogs: Belka and Strelka creator Svyatoslav Ushakov leads the animation panel.
Main feature competition entries include Without Looking Back by Natalia Konchalovskaya, starring Anna Peresild and Alexei Rozin, and Landscaping by Vitaly Suslin. The lineup also features Hamlet Dulyan's Forest, starring Karina Razumovskaya and Lyanka Gryu, Vladimir Zakharenko's Siege of Leningrad drama On the Edge of Childhood, and Nikita Davydov's Yakut film Seven Days of Happiness.
Business Program and Special Events
Parallel business and educational sessions focus on auteur film distribution, pitchings, and creative laboratories. Production company Mars Media will present new projects including Ruslan and Lyudmila, Aibolit, and Palma 3. A separate presentation will highlight the film Toothy Nanny, which begins shooting in Vyborg during the festival.
The event schedule includes masterclasses by directors Stas Ivanov and Daria Lebedeva, alongside lectures on Soviet science fiction and noir. Attendees can also view an exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of Sergei Bondarchuk's film adaptation of War and Peace, featuring authentic character costumes provided by Mosfilm.
On August 7, the Vyborg Palace cinema will show autumn premieres, including Anna Matison's film Not Childish, starring Sergei Bezrukov, presented in person by its creators. Vladislav Bogush's family comedy My Dad is a Bear 2 will close the festival on August 9.
Founded in 1993, the Vyborg film review is Russia's oldest national film festival. Directors Marlen Khutsiev, Savva Kulish, and Stanislav Rostotsky helped establish the event together with composer Mikael Tariverdiev. The festival is organized by the Russian-European Film Association, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, and the Government of Leningrad Region under the motto Russian Cinema: Forecast for Tomorrow.
