
This year, the Antropov Foundation was privileged to participate in SIFFA, or Sochi International Film Festival & Awards, held between 3-7 November, 2020.
As part of the Antropov Foundation’s mission to promote culture and humanities in the UK, Russia and beyond, it supported, both the film and the eponymous music festival on a par with the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Russian Cultural Foundation, the Ministry of Culture of the Krasnodar Region, the Sochi City Administration, Russian Culture House| Rossotrudnichestvo UK and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the UK.
For the Antropov Foundation, this was the first major-scale international Russian-British film festival, although the Foundation previously held film screenings in Paris and London. Judging by the feedback from the organizers, the experience was positive for both parties.
“We would not have coped in this challenging COVID-ridden year, had we not been blessed with good new friends and partners, such as Alexey Antropov of the Antropov Foundation, who stepped in at these difficult times”, as was written in the Sochi Film Festival Instagram blog. In the same manner, the Antropov Foundation looks forward to the long-term collaboration with SIFFA Film and Music Festival and new joint projects.


Group photo of the IRIDA/SIFFA film festival participants. Front row centre: Mr. Alexey Antropov and Mr. Anatoly Balchev. In the second row behind them – the SIFFA President and Founder Ms. Liubov Balagova-Kandour.
SIFFA is a prestigious Russian-British film festival and award that takes place alternatively in Sochi and London twice per annum.
The festival was established in 2016 on the initiative of Founder and President Lyubov Balagova-Kandour. SIFFA’s main goal is to promote Russian cinema and its creators on an international film scene (and especially, at the prestigious international film festivals). In 2020, the festival was held for the fifth time, but due to the global pandemic, the film screenings and the music events had to be streamed online, due to health and safety measures. This year, the event took place in partnership with Ramsgate Film Festival and was streaming live on the platform www.ramsgatedigitalcinema.co.uk.

The jury, presided by the SIFFA co-founder, television producer and director Mohy Kandour, had to select the best films out of 50 projects submitted.
Among the juries of the festival were actress Di Anderson, People's Artist of the Russian Federation Vladimir Khotinenko, Honoured Artists of the Russian Federation Valery Vorona and Vladimir Shevelkov, film critic and cinema studies professor Tatiana Yakovleva, producer Natalya Ivanova, the UK actress Debbie Arnold, film producer and winner of Oscar Stephen Mao, People's Artist of South Ossetia Oksana Stashenko, the UK actor and producer Peter Ferris, American actress Rosita Royce, American director and producer Karl Bardosh.
Link to the IRIDA/SIFFA official website
Video of the Red Carpet SIFFA press-conference, November 6, 2020.