Film Festival

18+

International Film Festival

«Made
by Women»

Made by Women · International Film Festival

Festival Mission

The mission of the Made by Women International Film Festival is to support and advance the professional work of women in the film industry, and to create a sustainable public and professional platform for showcasing, discussing, and promoting films created with the key involvement of women.

Dates July 8–12, 2026

City Moscow

Venue KARO 11 Oktyabr Cinema

Film Programme

Eight auteur films from Russia and around the world — stories told by women. Screenings and Q&As with the filmmakers at the KARO 11 Oktyabr cinema.

18+

8 July · 19:50

Daytime Fireworks

KARO 11 Oktyabr, Hall 5

2025 · Russia · 90 min · comedy, drama

Three sisters live in a lavish mansion, surrounded by expensive gifts and the love of their generous father Viktor. But his business is on the verge of bankruptcy, and Weihong — a pragmatic business partner from China — appears on the doorstep. When the father decides to hand over the family nest to pay off his debts, the sisters declare war.

Director: Nina Volova
Language: Russian with English subtitles
Cast: Alexander Robak, Darya Konyzheva, Maria Raskina, Vera Yengalycheva, Olesya Sudzilovskaya, Wang Bing, Maxim Karushev, Alexandra Zhivova, Mikhail Orlov, Alexandra Serzina

Q&A with director Nina Volova

Poster of the film “The Captain's Daughter”

12+

9 July · 18:00

The Captain's Daughter

KARO 11 Oktyabr, Hall 5

2025 · Russia · 102 min · drama

The story of eight-year-old Lyubochka, who waits for her sailor father, though no one believes he exists. The film is set in 1972.

Director: Larisa Sadilova
Language: Russian with English subtitles
Cast: Viktoria Sergeenkova, Olesya Zheleznyak, Dmitry Nenakhov, Valeria Didenko, Andrey Savchenkov

Q&A with director Larisa Sadilova

16+

9 July · 20:30

Feelings

KARO 11 Oktyabr, Hall 5

2024 · Russia · 63 min · drama

A mother's boundless love can destroy her son, while the love of an ailing old man gives new life to a young girl.

Director: Viktoria Mokerova
Language: Russian with English subtitles
Cast: Evgeny Marchelli, Chingiz Garaev, Viktoria Mokerova, Yola Sanko, Maxim Kostromykin

Q&A with director Viktoria Mokerova and producer Maxim Dobromyslov

18+

10 July · 18:00

Mom's Blues

KARO 11 Oktyabr, Hall 5

2025 · Russia · 67 min · drama

A small provincial town. A young doctor's morning begins with an anxious knock at the window. A panicked woman reports that her child is dying. The doctor rushes to help and discovers signs of abuse on the child's body. An investigation begins, and the doctor is drawn into the dark depths of a family tragedy.

Director: Katerina Gorbacheva
Language: Russian with English subtitles
Cast: Kadriya Valieva, Ekaterina Ivanova, Migalim Fakildinov, Darya Tarasova, Timur Malygin, Ksenia Komarova

Q&A with director Katerina Gorbacheva

18+

10 July · 20:00

Sorda

KARO 11 Oktyabr, Hall 5

2025 · Spain · 99 min · drama

Ángela, a deaf woman, is expecting a child with her hearing partner Héctor. The baby's arrival becomes a serious test for their relationship and forces Ángela to confront the challenges of raising a daughter in a world that was not built for her.

Director: Eva Libertad
Language: Spanish and Spanish Sign Language (LSE) with Russian subtitles
Cast: Miriam Garlo, Álvaro Cervantes, Elena Irureta, Joaquín Notario

12+

11 July · 15:20

Morning Sunshine

KARO 11 Oktyabr, Hall 5

2024 · India · 129 min · drama, romance

Jyoti is a young woman with spinal muscular atrophy. Torn between her duties to her family and her dream of becoming a writer, she struggles to live an independent life.

Director: Bobby Sarma Baruah
Language: Assamese with Russian subtitles
Cast: Sulakhyana Baruah, Kamal Lochan Deka, Arun Nath, Bina Patangia

Q&A with director Bobby Sarma Baruah and actress Sulakhyana Baruah

18+

11 July · 18:20

Sasha Was Walking

KARO 11 Oktyabr, Hall 5

2025 · Russia · 93 min · drama, comedy

Every escape starts somewhere. Sasha's starts with a rubbish bin. Fleeing her husband's abuse, Sasha sets off for the very edge of the country — to Teriberka. The long road teaches her absurd but necessary lessons: how to 'rescue' the non-suicidal, how to coax stubborn cars, how to flee 'antelope hunters', and above all — how to find and accept help in the most unexpected places. But the longed-for sea reminds her: to build a new life, she must reclaim what matters most.

Director: Yulya Voytyuk
Language: Russian with English subtitles
Cast: Alexandra Klimova, Vladimir Gartsunov, Albina Chaykina, Vladimir Rovinsky, Alexey Yarmilko, Vera Marchenko, Alexander Zlatopolsky, Regina Tselik, Darya Markina, Oleg Solodukhin

Q&A with director Yulya Voytyuk, producer Evgenia Skrypnik and cinematographer Phil Zhukov

18+

11 July · 20:30

Promised Sky

KARO 11 Oktyabr, Hall 5

2025 · France, Tunisia, Qatar · 95 min · drama

Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist, has lived in Tunisia for ten years. Her home becomes a refuge for Naney, a young mother dreaming of a better future, and Jolie, a determined student on whom her whole family pins its hopes. The arrival of a little orphan girl tests their solidarity in a tense social atmosphere, revealing both their vulnerability and their inner strength.

Director: Erige Sehiri
Language: French and Arabic with Russian subtitles
Cast: Aïssa Maïga, Debora Lobé Naney, Laetitia Ky, Estelle Kenza Dogbo, Fouad Zaaza, Mohamed Grayaa, Toure Blamassi

Tickets for all films in the festival programme

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Jury

The festival programme is judged by an international jury — world-renowned directors, producers, film critics and actors.

Sitora Alieva

Film scholar, festival expert, producer

Jury member at international film festivals and the European Film Academy. Lecturer on educational programmes in Russia, Europe and the USA. For 17 years she was programme director of the Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival. Programme director of the debut section at the Korotche festival.

Yulia Mishkinene

Film producer

Films: Salyut-7 (Golden Eagle Award), Intimate Parts, The Hunter (Cannes' Un Certain Regard). Lecturer at the Moscow School of New Cinema.

Sergey Deshin

Film critic, curator

Programme director of the K24 film distribution company and the VOICES festival. Published in Seance, Iskusstvo Kino and Kinopoisk. Jury member at the Zerkalo (Mirror), Pacific Meridian, MIEFF, VGIK, Patriki Film Festival and Smolshorts festivals. Producer of the short film Gallucinat (2025, dir. Veta Geraskina). Member of the expert film council at the Russian Ministry of Culture (2021); winner of the Slon (Elephant) award for best young film critic of the year.

Elena Lyadova

Theatre and film actress

Four-time winner of the Nika Award and five-time winner of the Golden Eagle Award. Known for the films Leviathan and The Geographer Drank His Globe Away. Winner of the Moscow International Film Festival award for Best Actress.

Michael Schlicht

Film producer

35 years of international experience in content production and distribution. Headed the Russian offices of 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures. Behind a whole series of box-office features and series: Night Watch and 9th Company, Cyberdad, Berlin Heat, the Barankins and the Stones of Power. Shareholder and general producer of the Monumental Vision film company.

Sarfaraz Alam Safu

Indian director and producer

Founder of the Indian Film Festival in Russia. Graduate of the New York Film Academy. His film Tears of Nandigram is an international award winner.

Marusya Fomina

Actress, director

Actress at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre; graduate of GITIS and the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors (Khotinenko's workshop). Known for the series Kept Women (Soderzhanki) and the drama Ballet (2023). In theatre — productions by Renata Litvinova, Three Sisters directed by Konstantin Bogomolov and 8 Angry Women by Alla Sigalova. In 2023 she made her directorial debut with the feature film SLON.