MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. The opening ceremony of the 46th edition of the Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) was held at the Rossiya theater in the Russian capital, during which Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova and Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova addressed the audience, TASS reported.

The opening ceremony started with a minute’s silence for the victims of the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow. Olga Lyubimova read out greetings of President Vladimir Putin. She also said that almost 250 fascinating films from over 50 countries are in the MIFF program.

MIFF President Nikita Mikhalkov, a celebrated Russian film director, declared the festival open, praising the bravery of foreign cultural figures who are visiting Russia at this time.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova congratulated the guests and participants of the MIFF on its opening.

Every year, Mikhalkov hands the head of the jury a gold chain that symbolizes ‘the authority of the head of the jury.’ This year, the jury deciding on the top award is chaired by Icelandic director Fridrik Thor Fridriksson.

Moscow International Film Festival

Ten films from Russia, Germany, Serbia, Romania, Romania, Iran and other countries are in competition for the top Golden St. George prize of the MIFF.

Russia will be represented by Ivan Sosnin’s film "The Alien." The jury will be considering ten films, which are "21 Rubies" by Ciprian Megi (Romania), "Everything Will Be Revealed" by Peter Keglevich (Austria), "Surviving in Mo..." by Grigore Bechet (Moldova, Russia, Romania), "Breath of Cold" by Nahid Azizi Sedigh (Iran), "The Forest King" by Goran Radovanovic (Serbia), "Between Dog and Wolf" by Murat Duzgunoglu (Turkey), "Nirvana" by Asif Islam (Bangladesh), and "Shame" by Miguel Salgado (Mexico). Germany has submitted two films to the MIFF: "Martin Reads the Quran" directed by Yuri Saule and "Schlimazel" by Silke Enders.

Kicking off the festival is "Upon Open Sky" by Mexican directors Mariana and Santiago Arriraga. The MIFF will last until April 26, featuring films from more than 50 countries.

The Moscow Film Festival was founded in 1935, which makes it the world’s second oldest film festival after the Venice event. In 1995 it was announced that the film festival would become annual, although it was not held in 1996 and 1998. Since 1999, the MIFF has been held every year. The president of the film festival is director Nikita Mikhalkov. TASS is the information partner of the MIFF.