Dazzling spotlights, sparkling camera flashes, and exciting anticipation – this is how the opening ceremony of the film festival began. Hundreds of people – residents and guests of the resort town – gathered on the square near the Sergey Puskepalis Culture Palace to greet the artists who had come to the film festival. The long red carpet, located on the stairs near the Culture Palace, turned into a living canvas, embroidered with bright stars of Russian cinema. The actors, directors, producers and scriptwriters walked along it to the applause of the audience.
Among the guests and participants: Yulia Peresild, Andrey Rudensky, Anna and Zlata Kovalchuk, Svetlana Toma, Anna Yakunina, Alexander Pashutin, Elena Zakharova with her daughter Maya, Elena Biryukova, Pavel Artemyev, Vasily Mishchenko, Irina Bezrukova, Anzhelika and Kristina Kashiriny, Anatoly Zhuravlev, Evgeny Malakhova, Sergey Mokritsky, Polina Lazareva, Andrey Kravchuk, Daria Lebedeva, Oleg Taktarov, Olesya Sudzilovskaya, Ivan I. Tverdovsky, Irina Grineva and Maxim Shabalin, Nikita Volkov, Igor Chekhov and others.
We love you very much. This is a wonderful city! We are happy that we are here. And, of course, we wish the festival a wonderful film, which everyone is waiting for: the audience, the actors, and the directors. So that there would be amazing, real, artistic films, which we could be proud of! — noted theater and film actress Irina Grineva.
The host of the red carpet Georgy Peradze, an actor of the theater “12” N.S. Mikhalkov, greeted each participant, creating a warm and relaxed atmosphere.
I would like to wish the guests of this wonderful city to leave here healthy and happy, because this is a city of health, people come here to get stronger, get a lot of energy, beauty and enjoy this unusual aura. I wish the festival a long, happy voyage and the joy of communication! — said the Soviet actress, star of the film “Tabor Uyet V Nebo” Svetlana Toma.
After the ceremonial fashion show, the events moved to the stage of the Palace of Culture. The famous Russian actress Anna Kovalchuk, acting as the host of the opening ceremony, warmly greeted the audience. In her speech, she emphasized the importance of the Caucasus for many outstanding Russian cultural and scientific figures, noting that it served for them not only as a source of inspiration, but also as a true symbol of creative energy. After that, Kovalchuk invited the head of Zheleznovodsk Evgeny Bakulin and the general producer of the film festival “FERRUM’25” Natalia Mokritskaya to the stage. Together they solemnly declared the film festival open.
At the film festival, participants and guests had a unique opportunity to enjoy the performance of legendary songs interpreted by Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Yulia Peresild and the musical group “Mandragora” with their project “Bird Victory”. Such iconic compositions as “Cuckoo”, “Cranes”, “Heart, Be Silent!”, “Storks”, “We Don’t Stand for the Price”, “In the Frontline Forest”, “Song of Bombers”, “Smuglyanka”, “Eh, Roads!”, “Road to Berlin”, “Victory Day”, “For That Guy”, “From the Heroes of Bygone Times”, “Pre-War Waltz” and others were performed. Unique author’s interpretations, magnificent musical arrangements, supplemented by fragments of newsreels, photographs of the war years and frames of favorite films, created an inimitable atmosphere. Such harmony reminded the audience of the strength, valor and courage of the Russian people, leaving a deep emotional impression.
The first day of the festival ended with a screening of the famous comedy by Georgy Daneliya “Mimino” in the open air in the Resort Park. The cult film was presented on 35 mm film as part of a program dedicated to the director’s 95th anniversary, thanks to the support of the “Film Traveling” project. Viewers could enjoy a true classic of Russian cinema in a relaxed and cozy atmosphere.
Let us recall that the second film festival “FERRUM’25” is taking place in Zheleznovodsk from August 28 to 31 with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. The main goal of the event is to revive respect for Russian culture and its traditions, promote true moral values and create relevant ideas about the future. The festival is held annually and is organized by the government of Stavropol Krai and the administration of Zheleznovodsk.
