A ceremony honoring the winners of the ArtMasters Open International Competition in the “Cinema” and “Music” categories took place in Ekaterinburg as part of the International Festival of Youth 2026. An international jury selected the laureates following the finalist teams’ creative project pitches.

“Initially, the idea of holding ArtMasters Open at the International Festival of Youth was not an obvious one, but today I am very glad this experience happened. I believe we have established a wonderful tradition, and at future festivals of this kind, ArtMasters Open will also be able to hold its competitions. And you will be recorded in the project’s history forever as the first ArtMasters Open champions,” said Sergei Novikov, Chief of the Presidential Directorate for Social Projects and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the ArtMasters National Open Championship of Creative Competencies, at the award ceremony.

The finalists’ works were evaluated by Alexander Zhuravsky, Deputy Chief of the Presidential Directorate for Social Projects and Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the ArtMasters National Open Championship of Creative Competencies; Liu Xuan (China), film producer, director, co-founder of Caina International Film Media and Beijing Xina Culture Media Co. Ltd, and Vice Chairman of the China Society for the Study of World Cinema; Yulia Golubeva, Deputy CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding; Ester Mitrofan (Romania), theater director; Alexey Goreslavsky, Director General of the ANO Internet Development Institute (IRI); and Vicente Barrientos (Brazil), President of the BRICS Center.

“The first ArtMasters Open was truly an important experience for all its participants. During the competition, they had to get to know each other, form teams, and create their projects. This was no easy task: participants came from different countries, represented different cultures and professional approaches, and many barely knew each other before the competition began. That makes the result they achieved together all the more valuable. ArtMasters Open showed that creativity and professional work can bring people from different countries together and become the foundation for new international cooperation,” emphasized Borislav Volodin, Director of the ANO ArtMasters.

Ten teams including participants from 25 countries reached the final stage. Over three days, participants worked in person on creative projects in Ekaterinburg, combining different professional competencies and approaches. In the “Cinema” category, finalists created social videos on the topic “The Art of Being Human”. In the “Music” category, participants developed music videos for well-known artists: Hollyflame, Leon Kemstach, Dana Sokolova, Anna Nemchenko, Masha Sheixx.

“For me, it was especially interesting to see participants from different countries not just meeting each other, but truly becoming teams and creating full-fledged creative projects together over just a few days. In competitions like this, personal expertise is not the only thing that matters — results emerge where people know how to listen to each other and join their competencies. The first ArtMasters Open showed that this format works, and I am confident it has a great future,” noted Alexey Goreslavsky, Director General of the ANO Internet Development Institute.

In the “Cinema” category, first place went to the team that created a social video titled “The Best Day of the Year” about human connection and paying attention to each other in the age of technology. The director was Apollinaria Limanskaya. The story centers around an old man who is forgotten by his loved ones on his birthday and goes to a store, where a chance encounter with a stranger unexpectedly changes his evening.

The team included: Daria Kiryukhina — screenwriter, Russia; Adem Shahereddine Amarush — film and TV camera operator, Algeria; Mirola Adel Aziz Kaddis — film editor, Egypt; Maria Fedorova — producer, Russia; Suman Shrestha — prompt engineer, Nepal; Aisha Mollik — graphic designer, Russia; Evgenia Okhremenko — costume designer, Russia; Ayunda Sofia Zahra — makeup artist, Indonesia; Nina Zharova — sound designer, Russia; Emma De Rosa — media composer, Argentina.

In the “Music” category, the winning team created a music video for Anna Nemchenko. The work is based on the idea that a dance floor can be wherever a person wants to dance, without being embarrassed by their emotions and following their desire. The team chose a disco aesthetic for the video, and filming used 3D backgrounds and tracking cameras.

The team included: Karina Kalmetieva — music video director, Russia; Mohammed Omar Faraj — film and TV camera operator, Iraq; Tadongyi Edward Fyada — film editor, Nigeria; Anastasia Vagina — producer, Russia; Abdellah Oualili — graphic designer, Morocco; Muhammad Ali Janjua — motion designer, Pakistan; Tamara Klimakhina — production designer, Russia; Alena Gorbunova — makeup artist, Russia; Anna Paula Rodrigues Tambasco — prompt engineer, Brazil; Alexandra Demidenko — stylist, Russia.

At the International Festival of Youth 2026, ArtMasters also presented an interactive booth created with the support of the World Youth Festival Directorate, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, and Russian Post. A Firebird image, reimagined through the symbolism of backstage professions and the project’s contemporary visual aesthetic, is the centerpiece of the display. The booth features a photo zone as one of interactive elements — festival guests can format photos taken there as postcards.

ArtMasters representatives also took part in the Festival’s Business Program. In particular, Borislav Volodin moderated the session “Russia’s Creative Potential and International Cooperation,” dedicated to developing international ties in the creative industries, new technologies, and training specialists for the sector.

In 2026, ArtMasters Open was held for the first time. The project was implemented with support from the Presidential Foundations for Cultural Initiatives. More than 3,500 people from 140 countries and territories applied to participate. Participants could choose one of 14 creative competencies in the “Cinema” and “Music” categories.

The competition’s industry partners were RUTUBE, VK, and Hollyland, and also Art Studio 13 for the “Music” category.