Blog: Film festivals

We are an Independent film festival with live screenings, that happens yearly in different cities in Maharashtra, India. Welcome to Canvas International Short Fest. We are facilitating our second Annual Festival in 2020. Our mission is intended to help make a stage for our producers to be seen, yet more significantly, get them the business presentation to help support their specialty for a long time to come. The CANISF is amazingly energized for its grandstand season and plans on getting extraordinary compared to other film festivals in Pune. Each movie producer who submits is naturally qualified for our Production Budget prize.

CANISF endeavors to give spaces to autonomous movie producers to make and show their accounts without business pressure, so as to find and celebrate unprecedented movies and create free filmmaking. Our Jury group is searching for potential movies and producers for scheduled meetings with officials from the film and media business. CANISF will have screening occasions at the Mumbai with post-screening Q&A with executives, makers and entertainers and the open door for them to coordinate with industry experts at our networking occasions and workshops.

The International Film Festival of Leon IFFOL, invites all filmmakers to participate in the IFFOL Official Call 2024 from April 1 to August 05 of this year, being able to apply with fiction, non-fiction or animation feature film, short film or short documentary to be part of the 10th Consecutive Edition to be held between October 30 to November 03 of this year. Those selected may be part of the three competitive sections of the festival: International Talent, Local Talent and University Talent.

ZINEBI- International Festival of Documentary adn Short Film of Bilbao

ZINEBI is the only Class A international festival in the documentary and short film category in Spain. It is accredited by the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifier for the Oscars, for the European Film Academy’s awards, for the British BAFTAs and for the Spanish Academy’s Goyas.

Created in 1959 by the Basque Institute of Hispanic Culture, attached to the Spanish Foreign Ministry, the International Ibero-American and Filipino International Documentary Film Contest (its original name) was devised to follow in the steps of San Sebastián, which had been set up six years earlier. It is the third oldest festival in the Spanish State, after San Sebastián and Valladolid, and the first amongst those in its field. Between 1972 and 1981, it became a platform to discuss Spanish short films and a space for the dissemination of productions from all over the world, and particularly Latin America. In 1974, it was recognised by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) as a contest of the highest international competitive category. Between 1975 and 1980, it was the ideal forum to discuss the arrival of what would be known as Basque cinema.

In 1981, the festival passed to the hands of Bilbao City Council. Since the year 2000, it embarked on a new era under the ZINEBI brand, when it would consolidate its position as one of the most important international festivals in its speciality. It has strived to be a platform for Spanish and Basque producers and directors and has contributed, as one of its fundamental goals, to internationally promoting the quality and independent films made around the world: films whose creative ambition is not exhausted by merely repeating hackneyed stylistic characteristics. Thanks to these very free and exceptional works, ZINEBI continues to renew its commitment each year to formal experimentation, to the interdisciplinary and hybrid of the new audiovisual productions, to support for the up-and-coming producers, and to filmmakers’ aesthetic and ethical scrutiny of the increasingly more complex realities of our contemporary world.

Throughout its long history, the festival has welcomed to Bilbao some of the most prestigious professionals of independent filmmaking worldwide. The accolades of ZINEBI include the names of Jacques Demy, Richard Lester, Pierre Pérrault, Claude Lelouch, Gian Vittorio Baldi, Carroll Ballard, Fernando Birri, Estela Bravo, Santiago Álvarez, Valeria Sarmiento, Robert L. Drew, Felipe Cazals, Peter Watkins, Peter Mullan, Lourdes Portillo, Avi Mograbi, Sergei Loznitsa, Lászsló Nemes, Nele Wohlatz and Luise Donschen. Thanks to its critical debate and specialisation, the festival has been a test bed for the new trends of contemporary cinema and a useful platform for the most daring filmmakers.

A similar headcount of the ranks of Spanish cinema reveals that the Bilbao Festival has been the launchpad of several generations of filmmakers: Carlos Saura, Basilio M. Patino, Pío Caro Baroja, José Val del Omar, Javier Aguirre, Jaime Chávarri, Francesc Betriu, Nadia Werba, Imanol Uribe, Montxo Armendáriz, Pedro Almodóvar, Julio Medem, Fernando León de Aranoa, Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Javier Rebollo, Santiago Segura, Begoña Vicario, Jon Garaño, José María Goenaga, Virginia García del Pino, Neus Ballús, Koldo Almandoz, Isabel Herguera, Asier Altuna, Izibene Oñederra and Natalia Marín.

The festival’s guests, international jury members and winners of the Mikeldi of Honour, its top annual award, include Peter Greenaway, Ennio Morricone, Jean Rouch, Dino Risi, Luis García Berlanga, Hanna Schygulla, Anna Karina, Jane Birkin, Arturo Ripstein, Elías Querejeta, Richard Lester, Pavel Paulikowski, Márta Mészáros, Jeanne Moreau, Anthony Hopkins, Vannessa Redgrave, Emir Kusturica, Liliana Cavani, Carlos Saura, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, Jean-Claude Carrière, Patrice Chéreau, Cecilia Roth, Hirokazu Kore-Eda, Juan Ruiz Anchía, Aki Kaurismäki, Marco Bellocchio, Mariano Llinás, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Wang Bing, Claire Simon, Márta Mészáros, and the Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne brothers.

The different ZINEBI directors down through the years have been: Pedro de Ybarra (1959-1968), José Ignacio Uruñuela (1968-1970), Felipe Alfonso Araico and Adolfo Lafarga (1970-1972), Roberto Negro (1972-1981), Manu Pagola (1981-1985), the Executive Committee made up byr José Julián Bakedano, Ernesto del Río, José Antonio Mingolarra y Santos Zunzunegui (1985-1987), Iñaki Acarregui (1987-1988), Luis Iturri (1988-1998) and Ernesto del Río (1999-2017). Vanesa Fernández Guerra has been the director since 2018.

The festival is currently sponsored and institutionally funded by Bilbao City Council – through the Arriaga Theatre – as the organiser, by the Basque Government’s Department of Culture, by the Spanish Ministry of Culture – through the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA)-, and by Bizkaia Provincial Council. ZINEBI is also supported by private and public entities including Basque Public Television (ETB), Azkuna Zentroa, Golem-Alhóndiga Cinemas, the Fine Arts Museum, Guggenheim Museum, the Sala BBK, the Campos Elíseos Theatre, the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), the French Institute, the Goethe Institute, the SGAE Foundation-Basque Council and the FAS Film Club.


ZINEBI- Festival Internacional de Cine Documental y Cortometraje de Bilbao

ZINEBI es el único festival internacional de Clase A de España en la categoría de documental y cortometraje. Está acreditado por la Academia de Hollywood como calificador para los premios Oscar, para los premios EFA de la Academia del Cine Europeo, para los premios BAFTA de la Academia Británica y para los premios Goya de la Academia Española.

Creado en 1959 por el Instituto Vascongado de Cultura Hispánica, dependiente del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, el Certamen Internacional de Cine Documental Iberoamericano y Filipino de Bilbao (su nombre inicial) fue concebido como hermano menor del Festival de San Sebastián, que había nacido seis años antes. Es, tras el de San Sebastián y el de Valladolid, el tercero más antiguo del Estado y el primero entre los de su especialidad. Entre 1972 y 1981 se convirtió en una plataforma de debate sobre el cortometraje español y en un espacio para la difusión de las cinematografías más variopintas, en especial la latinoamericana. En 1974 obtuvo el reconocimiento de la Federación Internacional de Asociaciones de Productores (FIAPF) como certamen de la máxima categoría internacional competitiva, y entre 1975 y 1980 fue el lugar de debate idóneo para el alumbramiento de lo que empezó a conocerse como cine vasco.

A partir de 1981 el festival fue asumido por el Ayuntamiento de Bilbao y desde el año 2000, bajo la marca de ZINEBI, emprendió una nueva época en la que ha consolidado su posición como uno de los festivales internacionales más importantes de su especialidad, desde la que intenta servir de plataforma a realizadores y directoras de Euskadi y el Estado y ha contribuido, como uno de sus objetivos fundamentales, a la promoción internacional del cine independiente y de calidad que se realiza en los cinco continentes: películas cuya ambición creativa no se agota en la repetición de rasgos estilísticos estereotipados, obras muy libres y singulares que permiten a ZINEBI renovar anualmente su apuesta por la experimentación formal, por la condición híbrida e interdisciplinar de las nuevas producciones audiovisuales, el apoyo a los realizadores emergentes, y la indagación ética y estética de los cineastas en las cada vez más complejas realidades de nuestro mundo contemporáneo.

A lo largo de la dilatada historia del festival, han pasado por Bilbao algunos de los más prestigiosos profesionales del cine independiente mundial. En el palmarés de ZINEBI destacan los nombres de Jacques Demy, Richard Lester, Pierre Pérrault, Claude Lelouch, Gian Vittorio Baldi, Carroll Ballard, Fernando Birri, Estela Bravo, Santiago Álvarez, Valeria Sarmiento, Robert L. Drew, Felipe Cazals, Peter Watkins, Peter Mullan, Lourdes Portillo, Avi Mograbi, Sergei Loznitsa, Lászsló Nemes, Nele Wohlatz, Luise Donschen o Fern Silva. El festival, desde el debate crítico y la especialización, ha servido de banco de pruebas de las nuevas tendencias del cine contemporáneo y una plataforma útil para los cineastas más arriesgados.

Un recuento similar entre las filas del cine español, permite señalar que en el Festival de Bilbao han emergido realizadores de varias generaciones distintas: Carlos Saura, Basilio M. Patino, Pío Caro Baroja, José Val del Omar, Javier Aguirre, Jaime Chávarri, Francesc Betriu, Nadia Werba, Imanol Uribe, Montxo Armendáriz, Pedro Almodóvar, Julio Medem, Fernando León de Aranoa, Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Javier Rebollo, Santiago Segura, Begoña Vicario, Jon Garaño, José María Goenaga, Virginia García del Pino, Neus Ballús, Koldo Almandoz, Isabel Herguera, Asier Altuna, Izibene Oñederra o Natalia Marín.

Entre sus invitados, jurados internacionales o galardonados con el Mikeldi de Honor, su máxima distinción anual, están Peter Greenaway, Ennio Morricone, Jean Rouch, Dino Risi, Luis García Berlanga, Hanna Schygulla, Anna Karina, Jane Birkin, Arturo Ripstein, Elías Querejeta, Richard Lester, Pavel Paulikowski, Márta Mészáros, Jeanne Moreau, Anthony Hopkins, Vannessa Redgrave, Emir Kusturica, Liliana Cavani, Carlos Saura, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, Jean-Claude Carrière, Patrice Chéreau, Cecilia Roth, Hirokazu Kore-Eda, Juan Ruiz Anchía, Aki Kaurismäki, Marco Bellocchio, Mariano Llinás, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Wang Bing, Claire Simon, Márta Mészáros y los hermanos Jean-Pierre y Luc Dardenne.

Desde su fundación, ZINEBI ha tenido los directores siguientes: Pedro de Ybarra (1959-1968), José Ignacio Uruñuela (1968-1970), Felipe Alfonso Araico y Adolfo Lafarga (1970-1972), Roberto Negro (1972-1981), Manu Pagola (1981-1985), el Comité de Dirección formado por José Julián Bakedano, Ernesto del Río, José Antonio Mingolarra y Santos Zunzunegui (1985-1987), Iñaki Acarregui (1987-1988), Luis Iturri (1988-1998) y Ernesto del Río (1999-2017). Desde 2018 la directora es Vanesa Fernández Guerra.

Actualmente el Festival cuenta con el patrocinio y la financiación institucional del Ayuntamiento de Bilbao –a través del C.A.C. Teatro Arriaga- como organizador, del Departamento de Cultura del Gobierno Vasco, del Ministerio de Cultura –a través del Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA)- y de la Diputación Foral de Bizkaia. Además, colaboran con ZINEBI entidades públicas y privadas como la Televisión Pública Vasca (ETB), Azkuna Zentroa, Cines Golem-Alhóndiga, el Museo de Bellas Artes, el Museo Guggenheim, la Sala BBK, el Teatro Campos Elíseos, la Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), el Instituto Francés, el Goethe Institut, la Fundación SGAE-Consejo de Euskadi y el Cineclub FAS, entre otros.

ZINEBI
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF DOCUMENTARY AND SHORT FILM OF BILBAO

It got started in the year 1.959 and organized by the Cultural Department of Bilbao City Hall, ZINEBI will celebrate its 66th edition from the 8th up to the 15th of November, 2024.

It is the only international Class A festival in Spain in the documentary and short film category recognised by FIAPF since 1974, recognised by the Hollywood Academy as a qualifier for the Oscars among the short films from the official palmares and qualifier as well by the Spanish Academy for the BAFTA Awards and the GOYA Awards.

ZINEBI is a festival which holds all the most current forms and formats, innovative and suggestive and that is making a steady bet for the emerging authors. The line-up of the international schedule (documentary, animation and fiction) and its section ZIFF-ZINEBI FIRST FILM, dedicated to first works, are their really distinguishing mark. Honour Mikeldis are also remarkable, which recognise the prestigious career of distinguising international directors and the strict selections of its sections BEAUTIFUL DOCS, dedicated to the most relevant contemporary features and BERTOKO BEGIRADAK, a section dedicated to the Basque documentary feature films from a recent production. Besides, every year it´s celebrated the profesional encounter entitled ZINEBI INDUSTRY- NETWORKING, dedicated to promote the audiovisual Basque industry.

INTRODUCTION

Valdivia International Film Festival showcases Chilean and international cinema in four competitive categories: Feature Competition, Youth Feature Competition, Latin American and Caribbean Short Film Competition, Latin American and Caribbean Children’s Short Film Competition and the new Chilean Short Film Competition for Film Students. Its non-competitive program includes historical retrospectives, contemporary filmmakers’ retrospectives, political cinema, avant-garde cinema, genre, and a children-family oriented cinema slot.

1.- OBJECTIVES
The festival aims to offer Chilean and foreign filmmakers a place to screen and to compete, and by doing so, promoting national and international film works of artistic quality.

2. DATES
The festival will be held from October 14th to 20th, 2024, in Valdivia, Chile.

The XV Film Festival: Childhood and Adolescence -2024, is a festival with spaces for circulation and audiovisual training for children, adolescents and young people, with exhibitions, recreational activities, workshops, panels and discussions, whose main objective is to promote Bogota as a pioneer city in Latin America in terms of a visible, protagonist and full of rights childhood and adolescence through audiovisual construction. Participation is free of charge to the activities of exhibition and circulation of audiovisual content.

The Contest will be held from September 7 to 13, 2024.

Children and adolescents will have access to an audiovisual program made up of national and international animation and fiction short films, television series and the "FESTICINE AWARD" category, which is given to audiovisuals made by Colombian children. They will be accompanied by playful activities of reflection on the thematic axis: "TERRITORIES OF KNOWLEDGE, BIODIVERSITY AND INCLUSION THROUGH FILM".

ForadCamp is a Cinema and Nature film Exhibition, whose Official Section is open to non-fiction films, made in any video format.

The 5th Yerevan Short Film Festival will be held from the 18-20th of November.

The Yerevan Short Film Festival chooses short films in the International and National Competition.

The spirit of the Yerevan international Short Film Festival is one of friendship and universal cooperation. Its aim is to build the platform for screening world’s best short films and support film industry of Armenia.

The festival pays for the participant of the competitive program accommodation and meals.

Espanto Film Fest International Horror, Horror, Suspense and Science Fiction Film Festival Volume 4 will take place from October 27 to November 6, 2022 in person and from October 26 to November 12 virtually by streaming through our Planisphere platform, having as a framework the State of Hidalgo, Edo. Mex, Oaxaca, Nayarit, Querétaro, Jalisco, Guanajuato and CDMX Mexico. Having a program focused on the best of independent horror cinema in international feature films, we are the ones who give the highest percentage of the screen to Mexican feature films and short films, in addition to the script sections for short film, feature film, international short film, Ibero-American section and experimental short films and / or university students with a duration of no more than 20 minutes, in addition to Espantito short films made by children, and the new category of video games, all production must be from 2021 to date.

Mogilev State Enterprise «Kinovideoprokat» respectfully informs You that the XXVI International Festival of Animation Films «Animaevka-2024» will be held in Mogilev (The Republic of Belarus).

Over the period of its existence, the Festival has become a holiday of animation for children and adults. There are events in every regional center of Belarus.

There are demonstrations of competitive and out-of-competition programs, creative meetings with the producers of animation films, classes, exhibitions of children’s fine arts and decorative-applied arts for the audience.

The program of the Festival includes:
- contest of animation films;
- contest of children's animation films;
- contest of children’s fine arts and decorative-applied arts.

The International Animated Film Festival "Constantine’s gold coin" is organized to promote cultural creativity of national and foreign authors.

XI Edition Pávez Awards - Talavera de la Reina International Film Festival. From October 18 to 26, 2023.

GOYA AWARDS QUALIFYING FESTIVAL.

- Short films of Spanish or Ibero-American production and/or direction.

- Short films produced from January 1, 2023.

- Spanish spoken language or original language with spanish subtitles.

- Maximum running time: 30 minutes with credits included.

- They may not be hosted on free viewing online platforms.

- 5 competitive sections: National (Official Section), International (Ibero-America), Local (Talavera de la Reina), Animation and Documentary.

- 18 categories opting for a prize.

- 5700 euros in awards + 18 Pávez

- DCP required for Official, International and Local Section.

Art in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is a very strong feature since our culture and ancient wisdom permeate the imaginaries in a whole sort of ways. So when we talk about Minas Gerais, we are talking tradition, hospitality, the act of sharing, conversing, and cooking together around the
stove, amongst family, friends, and with the table full of food and regional goods.

The value of the "mineiro" kitchen rests at the invitation to remember stories about the good old days, the art of the encounter, and the spirit of confraternization with friends and visiting pals.. If you care for a drive by the Brazilian highways, wherever you go, you'll probably face a sign with
the saying: "comida mineira"" ("mineiro food"). Here we want to accomplish the inspirational meeting between the mineiro people's two biggest passions:

food and story

Call for Entries

Esto Es Para Esto is a cinema collective group dedicated to independent cinema screening, spreading and film discussion, based in Monterrey City, México.

We seek for different forms of cinema, transcending media’s conventions and traditions that challenge the established. Cinematographic mirages, audiovisual delirium, dreams in motion, video-mutations, images and sound that travel through blood and brain cells to the screen, without format, duration or genre prejudices at all. We want to share your delirious audiovisions, pour them into the receptacle of light and discuss what might detonate in the minds of those who observe and listen.

Due to COVID-19 crisis we are postponing our event to December. Stay Tuned with us to know further Information. You can also mail us at ifilmsfest@gmail.com for any query. Please do not review before solving your query with us through email.

It is going to be the Live Short Film Festival of all time. Come Join in and make this Event a Success. !films International Short Fest is conducting an innovative International short film festival and invites participation from aspiring and upcoming independent filmmakers. A unique short film Festival, focusing on opportunity creation for global filmmakers.

iFilms International Short Film Festival stands being a new organization in the area of film festival, which will make endeavors towards imparting a novel identity to the world cinema, through conducting film festivals in the city of pune. ifilms fest will continue to work concerning technical and academic aspects of cinema. The organization will make attempts to connect the world film festival with the common public and others film director and making it a social concern, through conducting Questionnaire and discussions.

This FOUR day extra extravaganza showcases a diverse, language independent, selection of the best short films, documentaries, Animation and musical video from around the world, on themes of Hindi and English and others Marathi cultures and identities..

Vision and Mission :
iFilms Fest will provide an opportunity to heighten awareness of Hindi and English and Marathi cultures and identities to audiences of all cultural backgrounds.

iFilms will present films in their original languages with subtitles in an effort to build cross-cultural bridges. The Festival also aims to provide a platform to young Marathi to showcase their creativity. The Vision and Mission of iFilms Fest is guided by an advisory board composed of respected political, business, arts, community and media leaders.

​iFilms Fest Initiative by other film festival - First Film fest of ifilms which bring film lovers & film makers together to enable exchange of information and single window solutions for film industry.. The ifilms fest Aims to do creativity through year round Activities like :
* Film Festival like iFilms International Short Film Festival
* Seminar ( conference ) by Experienced Film Directors.
* Film Screening
* Work Shop for Upcoming Filmmakers
* Interactions with leading Film Makers, Technicians & Actors
​

It is a destination for the film community to discover, reach and discuss the film festival planet. Festivals are valued for the film industry as the most explosive avenue for growing contacts, collaborations and careers internationally. ifilms fest aims for the creation of this same socialization, sharing and support. The platform provides filmmakers with the technology to plan and distribute their films to audience. If you make films or you screen films, ifilms fest can connect you to the next generation of film makers.

The International Gay, Lesbian Trans Film Festival of Lima - the OutfestPerú - opens its call for the XXI edition and films of all nationalities whose theme is LGBTIQ, and which are eligible for the various sections of the festival can participate in it: Feature films ( Official Section and International Panorama), Short Films Section either Documentary or Fiction and Video Art (Official and Panorama). The works must not have been exhibited in commercial theaters, broadcast on TV or be available to the public on the Internet or other windows in Peruvian territory prior to the celebration of the festival and must have copyright after 2023. Feature films and short films must preferably be unpublished in Peru, although this is not exclusive but will be valued very positively. OutfestPerú reserves the right to include films that do not meet these conditions in the programming, but out of competition.

Around International Awards ✈ Barcelona ✈ Paris ✈ Amsterdam ✈ Berlin.

Annual Independent event with 4 major programs for all Features, Shorts, Documentaries, Experimental, Commercial, Music Video, Animations, Student Films, TV, Series, and New Media. The international community evaluates the all-genre creations to serve ARFF Official Laurels and to certify the awarded filmmakers at the end of the annual festival run. Thus, all the ARFF Finalists will be mentioned multiple times to have the best out of the entire year altogether. Submit today to participate in all 4 programs, regarding the unique system of ARFF International. Submissions made via Festhome are getting evaluated and selected, directly for the yearly festival run and participating in the Official Certificate Program exclusively. Monthly selection is available on other associated platforms.

See you Around & Fest Regards

Organized by the Brazilian Vegetarian Society, the event was launched in 2009, in the city of Curitiba, and aims to create a debate on animal rights and the socio-environmental impacts that the interaction of humans with other animals can bring.

The films are shown to the general public free of charge, and previous editions brought together renowned artists, environmentalists, activists, authorities, writers and, above all, admirers and defenders of animals.

We are an Independent film festival with live screenings, that happens yearly in Ahmadabad. Welcome to Amdabad Film Festival. We are facilitating our forth Annual Festival in 2023. Our mission is intended to help make a stage for our producers to be seen, yet more significantly, get them the business presentation to help support their specialty for a long time to come. The AMFF is amazingly energized for its grandstand season and plans on getting extraordinary compared to other film festivals in the Amdabad. Each movie producer who submits is naturally qualified for our Production Budget prizes.

AMFF endeavors to give spaces to autonomous movie producers to make and show their accounts without business pressure, so as to find and celebrate unprecedented movies and create free filmmaking. Our Jury group is searching for potential movies and producers for scheduled meetings with officials from the film and media business. AMFF will have screening occasions at the Ahmadabad with post-screening Q&A with executives, makers and entertainers and the open door for them to coordinate with industry experts at our networking occasions and workshops.

**Classifications OF THE CONTEST **
Movies, Documentaries or Music Videos in any language are acceptable however it is mandatory with Start to End Sub Title in English.Running time includes end credits. Short Films with length up to 50 minutes. Documentary Films with length up to 45 minutes. Music Video and Others Categories with length up to 00 to 50 minutes.

Festival Start: November 21,2024 Festival End: November 24,2024

FICEM is an artistic project and international film dissemination carried out from an Afrodiasporic reading in San Basilio de Palenque in Colombia, a corner of Africa in America and declared cultural and intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO.

The festival takes its name from the first Afro-Colombian film actor Evaristo Márquez, a participant in films such as La Quemada (1969) alongside Marlon Brando and directed by Gillo Pontecorvo among others.

FICEM continues with the conviction of continuing to be one of the most suitable strategies for the conservation of heritage, history, but above all the construction of a more conscious mentality with the capacity for analysis and reflection, both in the youth and adult populations of the Afro communities and the world in general, through cinema and socio-cultural initiatives.