Won Together: International Film Festival (20)

Festival start: 10 November 2025      Festival end: 17 November 2025

XX International Film Festival WON TOGETHER named after Vladimir Menshov is a cultural platform for documentary filmmakers from Russia and the world, united by the themes of victories in various spheres of life and the search for new artistic solutions.

We invite films revealing the problems of society and man, overcoming difficulties by the collective and personality in various spheres of life — social, economic, cultural, sports.

The Festival's program is a kaleidoscope in which every facet sparkles with fortitude, courage to move forward, and a thirst to make yourself better and transform the world around you.

The demonstration of films at the festival has an educational and cultural mission, is conducted on a non-commercial basis with the approval of the rights to screenings with the copyright holders.

Films produced in 2024-2025 are invited to participate in the Film Festival.

Prizes of the International Documentary Film Competition:
· Vladislav Mikosha Award for the Best Feature Film;
· Gemma Firsova Award for the Best Short Film;
· Special mention by the jury

Prizes of the International Competition of Television films/series/cycles:
· Best feature-length TV movie named after Svyatoslav Belza;
· Best short TV movie;
· Best TV serial;
· Best TV series;
· Diploma "New look" for artistic and creative search;
· Special mention by the jury.

Prizes of the International competition "Based on true story":
· Prize "Based on true story" (documentary segment)
· Prize "Based on true story" (game segment)
· Best Student Film;
· Special mention by the jury.

Grand Prix
The decision on awarding the Vladimir Menshov Grand Prix is made by the chairmen of the jury of all competitions.
Special prizes and diplomas may be awarded from the jury, the festival Management, partners, sponsors, and public organizations.

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM COMPETITION
It consists of 2 segments:
- "Memory" (paintings dedicated to events, exploits, historical time, heritage and collective memory of the Great Patriotic War and World War II);
- "Reflection" (paintings dedicated to the factors of victory and overcoming – personal or collective, in various fields).
To participate in the International Documentary Film Competition, documentaries are considered, regardless of the country of their production, reflecting the above-mentioned thematic concept of the festival, lasting up to 100 minutes, produced in 2024-2025.
The premiere factor is required for Russian films to participate in the International Documentary Film Competition.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF DOCUMENTARY TV FILMS/SERIES/CYCLES
The following are accepted for selection in the competition program:
- TV documentaries (created for TV channels, web platforms in both traditional and new formats);
- multi-part documentaries (TV series);
- documentary cycles;
- other sustainable TV production formats: reports, essays, interviews, investigations, portrait films, paintings created for anniversaries and memorable dates, etc.
The participation of the series and the cycle in the competition segment consists in demonstrating one (two) series, or a television commercial made specifically for the Festival and reflecting the thematic and artistic concept of the project (series, cycle). The Program Directorate of the Film Festival determines the choice of a specific series/ fragment/ episode of the film cycle for the screening.
The total duration of the works selected in the competition for on-screen demonstration from one studio / TV channel / platform should not exceed 100 minutes.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION "BASED ON TRUE STORY"
It includes documentary debuts, short feature films, and student works.
The competition presents films based on real and historical events. These can be documentaries or reconstructions created using game or animation techniques. The films of the competition do not focus on the personal opinion of the author or individual events, but reflect the historical, cultural and social aspects of countries in a certain period of time, showing a true picture of the past.
The article considers debut documentaries, short feature films, student documentaries completed as part of their studies at a cinematographic university and/or at a professional film/television school (including graduation projects).
Student films can be submitted both on behalf of universities/film schools and on behalf of their authors. Debut films are submitted by producing studios or authors
The maximum allowed time is 40 minutes.