The festival's title of 'Window to Europe' is associated with Tsar Peter the Great's decision to establish St Petersburg as a channel for European culture and trade. 'For us, Window to Europe means building a partnership with filmmakers from the Baltic states and Western Europe,' says Savva Koulish, co-founders and President of the Vyborg International Film Festival.
Festival founders are: REKA (Russian European Cinema Association), which operates as VIFF's organising committee; Vyborg Film Initiative; Russian and Moscow's Guilds of Film Directors and these guilds' Trade House; and Roskomkino (State Committee for Cinema).
'The festival was launched in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet empire, when the Russian market was saturated with low-grade US films,' says Savva Koulish.
'We could see the first signs of today's problem: a steady decline in domestic film production and shrinking theatrical distribution. A new festival with a different concept was needed: the best films should be financially and morally supported by the state and private companies. And, moreover, it would be a shot in the arm for domestic film production and distribution.'
Among the award-winners of the previous festivals were Russian titles Viva Castro!, Makarov, Dreams, Devotion, Lion with the Silver Beard (1995 Cannes Festival entry), Moon Dogs, Peculiarities of National Hunting (Grand Prix, 1995 Sochi Film Festival), and Peace After War.
