Moscow International Film Festival

The Moscow International Film Festival (Russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál; abbreviated as MIFF) is a film festival first held in Moscow in 1935 and became regular since 1959.^[1] From its inception to 1959, it was held every second year in July, alternating with the Karlovy Vary festival.^{[citation needed]} The festival has been held annually since 1999. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films, translated as the International Federation of Film Producers Associations) paused the accreditation of the festival until further notice.^[2]

The festival's top prize is the statue of Saint George slaying the dragon, as represented on the Coat of Arms of Moscow. Nikita Mikhalkov has been the festival's president since 2000. Over the years, the Stanislavsky Award—"I Believe. Konstantin Stanislavsky" for acting achievements was awarded to Jack Nicholson, Jeanne Moreau, Meryl Streep, Harvey Keitel, Fanny Ardant, Daniel Olbrychski, Gérard Depardieu, Oleg Yankovsky, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Beart, and Helen Mirren. In 2012, this prize was awarded to French actress Catherine Deneuve.^[3][4][5] In 2012 the jury was headed by the Brazilian director Hector Babenco. Among the members of the Jury were prominent filmmakers from different countries: the famous French director and actor Jean-Marc Barr; the Bulgarian director Javor Gardev; Adriana Chiesa di Palma, a producer from Italy; Sergei Loban from Russia. The "Perspectives" Jury was chaired by the filmmaker Marina Razbezhkina (Russia). The program director of the Festival is Kirill Razlogov.^[6][7]