Yakutsk film festival goes winter for the first time, with an ice "red carpet" and guests in Sakha dress

The 9th Yakutsk International Film Festival will be held on 4–9 November in the capital of the Sakha Republic, the first time in its history that it takes place in winter. The usual red carpet will be replaced by an alley of artistic ice sculptures, and all foreign guests will wear traditional Sakha dress.

Alexey Yegorov, director of the organising studio Sakhafilm, said a planned snow screen could not be built because little snow has fallen this year; if there is more snow, one will be set up on the square next year. The main award is the Golden Snow Goggles, which has become the festival's symbol.

The main competition features full-length fiction films from Russia and abroad, judged by an international jury with members from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Russia and Sakha. The festival opens with "At the Edge of the World" by Sakha director Eduard Novikov; the programme also includes out-of-competition screenings and masterclasses by specialists from Russia, Japan and China, and all events are open to the public.