Their degradation and colonialism vs. our peacemaking

Russia’s Culture Ministry issues ‘priority topics’ list designed to guide filmmakers to state grants for new projects

Russia’s Culture Ministry has published a list of “priority topics” for filmmakers planning to apply for government grants next year. The ministry’s official website encourages directors and cinematographers seeking state funding to “consider” working on one of the 17 topics deemed valuable to Russian propaganda. Below, Meduza republishes the ministry’s full list of topics that we can all look forward to seeing addressed in future Russian films. How many masterpieces do you expect with these cinematic priorities?

“Priority topics” for state-funded Russian filmmaking in 2023:

1. Russian culture. The cultivation, preservation, and dissemination of traditional values.
2. The Decade of Childhood [a federal program ordered by Putin in 2018]. Family, children, and their protection and support.
3. Science in Russia: innovation, technology, and new priorities.
4. Historical cinema. The lessons of memory and history. Resisting revisionism and falsifications. Russia’s peacemaking mission and its historic victories. The 80th anniversary of Moscow’s victory in World War II. The liberating mission of the Soviet soldier. The conflict and the continuity of generations.
5. Russia as a modern, stable, and secure state offering possibilities for individual flourishing and self-realization.
6. The heroes in our midst. Stories of charismatic contemporary Russians. Popularizing the teacher’s profession. Public school and higher education as stages of the individual’s social adaptation. The role of teachers and mentors in personal development.
7. Motivating the younger generation to enter the industrial and engineering professions. Elevating the social status of workers, engineers, scientific researchers, and innovators.
8. The cinematic chronicle. Current conditions and traditional culture in Russia’s regions beyond Moscow and St. Petersburg. Developing the Far East and the Arctic. Life in small towns and villages, and provincial lifestyle. Malorossia as a historically Russian region.
9. Adaptations of Russian literary classics, including animated adaptations.
10. Films about extraordinary people in history, culture, science, and sports. Popularizing the medical profession. Films about achievements and victories in sports.
11. Resisting contemporary manifestations of fascism and neo-Nazism. Popularizing the heroism and selflessness of the Russian soldiers in the course of the special military operation.
12. Popularizing the service in the Russian armed forces. The solidarization of society in supporting the army (narratives of frontline brigades, voluntary conscripts, and other volunteers). Elevating the social status of the military, using historic and contemporary examples.
13. The moral, spiritual, and patriotic education of Russian citizens. Resisting extremism. Role models, examples, and constructive motivation for contemporary young people. Spiritual leaders. Volunteering in Russia and the CIS countries. International popularization of volunteering.
14. The neo-colonial politics of the Anglo-Saxon world. The degradation of Europe. The emergence of a multipolar world.
15. Society without borders: the self-realization of people with limited abilities. Volunteering in Russia. Active longevity for seniors.
16. Films about teenagers. Establishing personal values and ideals during adolescence. Social disorientation, information overload, and developing critical thinking.
17. Contemporary society. Moral and ethical choice. Civic position and civil unity.

Later this year, the Culture Ministry will publish application guidelines for filmmakers interested in state funding for their projects.

Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova says she hopes cinematographers in Russia who submit grant applications will consider working on topics announced by the ministry. She also identified a few additional key priorities:

In the current conditions, we think it necessary to stress the importance of resisting falsifications of history and contemporary manifestations of Nazism, of talking about the heroism and gallantry of Russian soldiers during the special operation, and about the work of frontline brigades and volunteers.

Translated by Anna Razumnaya.