Do you continue running your project which you presented at Culture Online award? How does it evolve?

Yes, we continue to run “Dialogues on Art. Podcast for the Hearing Impaired”. We have already created two new films in the Russian sign language for deaf and hearing-impaired audiences in 2022 together with VTB Bank. One of them was based on a temporary exhibition about Ancient Egypt “The Art of Immortality” and the other on Peterhof. Once again, we invite globally famous deaf connoisseurs of culture and art to participate in the film. This helps us expand our audience. Next year we plan to add a voice-over, as we want a response from mixed families with a hearing-impaired member. Last year, our four films with which we took part in the “Culture Online” contest had more than 70 thousand views. This year, our first film about Ancient Egypt has already had almost 20 thousand views. And that’s without the super-popular last year and now blocked social media.

Do you have any new projects now?

Last year, when we submitted our works to “Culture Online” contest, we won the first grant competition of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives with a documentary film-travel in Russian sign language “In the footsteps of Alexander Nevsky”. This is a technically and organizationally complex project. We filmed the material in Novgorod, Vladimir, Pereslavl, Koporye, Pskov, and Moscow. We were filming in distant Mongolia and reached Karakorum, the ancient capital. Now we are approaching a difficult final stage of filming in Italy and editing. We hope that the premiere is soon to come. We also won a grant from the Regional Cinematography Support Fund to make a short film with the working title “Forbidden Language of the Future”. The film is dedicated to the history of Russian sign language in our country. Just recently we returned from filming in Tula, and are now working on editing. The film is expected to premiere this year.

 

What would you recommend to novices in creating cultural projects in an online format? What should one know, what is not to be afraid of in the startup period?

The most important thing is courage. During the startup period, you shouldn’t fear competition. The market is very dynamic and easy to adapt to if you want to. Small startups have a lot of advantages over large corporations in terms of mobility and readiness to quickly offer the right product to the audience. We did not fear and found our niche. We have a great professional team where both deaf and hearing people work together. We passed the test of difficult filming expeditions, the team learning to work together, the search for new technical solutions while creating films for different categories of viewers with disabilities.

 

Do you plan to participate in the Culture Online Awards in 2022?

Yes, with the film “The Art of Immortality” in Russian sign language, made with the support of VTB Bank.