On April 6, Saratov University hosted the opening of the V Gagarin.doc Festival of Cinema, Research and Contemporary Art Gagarin.doc. The hall was attended by the SSU administration, representatives of the Ministry of Culture of Saratov Region, the regional Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth Policy and Sports, organisers, and students. Among the honour guests were: Adviser to the Governor of Saratov Region Sergei Naumov, Head of the Office of Culture of the Saratov City Administration Maksim Makurov, and Director of Saratov State TV and Radio Company Dmitrii Petrov.

The festival is traditionally held by Saratov State University and the regional branch of the Union of Cinematographers and the Ministry of Culture of the Saratov Region. The hosts of the ceremony were Assistant Professor of the Department of General Literary Studies and Journalism, Head of University Laboratory of Mass Media of the Institute of Philology and Journalism Roman Pavlenko and a student of the Institute of Philology and Journalism Sofia Tsyganova.

Against the background of newsreel footage of the flight of Yurii Gagarin sounded a poem by Leonid Vysheslavsky Flight of a Hero performed by a student of the 4th grade of the progymnasium Kristallik Inna Rakhmanova. In continuation was presented a student video about Saratov Gagarin and Gagarin Saratov Gagarin Route. He convinced the viewer that the history of the astronaut is still alive in our city, on its streets and in people.

On behalf of the leadership of Saratov University, those present in the hall were greeted by Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Igor Malinskii. ‘We are glad that this year we managed to hold the opening of the festival and the festival itself in full-time format. Traditionally, we hold it on the eve of the anniversary of the first manned flight into space. In the history of mankind, there are many significant dates that have set a new vector for the development of civilization. Of course, the 20th century was rich in such events, but April 12, 1961 stands apart. It is a special day in the life of any family, for me it is my mother's birthday, and I will always remember her story of how she heard about Gagarin's flight on her 16th birthday. For many years this event has been an inspiring and unforgettable gift for her. I am sure that this date has a special meaning for each of you as well,’ Igor Malinskii pointed out.

Deputy Minister of Culture of Saratov Region Vladimir Barketov congratulated the guests and participants on the opening ceremony of the festival. ‘Our fellow countryman Yurii Gagarin managed to find his place in life from the very first steps. Cosmos appeared in the works of philosophers, poets and writers long before the appearance of Laura and Petrarch. But it was the Soviet cosmonaut who first paved the way to this previously unknown universe. I am very pleased that the Ministry of Culture is one of the founders of this festival, I wish everyone fruitful work, I wish to enjoy the creations that will be presented at the festival. Many events will be held offline, but I think this will not prevent each of us from taking part in this large-scale marathon,’ Vladimir Barketov said.

As noted by the Deputy Minister of Education of Saratov Region Lyudmila Grigoryeva, literally a few days are left before that significant, world date, which is celebrated by all mankind - this is the first manned flight into space. ‘It is no coincidence that this year has been declared the Year of Science and Technology. But I would like to focus on the theme of humanity, the Universe, space, which has always been an inspiration for the cultural part of our population. Therefore, we are hosting the Gagarin.doc festival, where this topic has always received a special emphasis. The number of applications received for the competition is impressive, I am sure that the festival will retain its traditional format and continuity,’ Lyudmila Grigoryeva underlined.

On behalf of the Ministry of Youth Policy and Sports of the Saratov Region, Deputy Minister Angelina Belovitskaya greeted the audience. ‘This is a significant, bright event for the cultural life of our region. It is not surprising that this festival takes place on the territory of our region, since we have long become a point of attraction for interesting, creative, large-scale projects. And it is especially pleasant to state the fact that the geography of this event is vast and has long gone beyond the boundaries of our region and country. It becomes clear why this particular creative festival was included in the series of the main events of the All-Russian level to celebrate the anniversary date – Cosmonautics Day.’

The main gift to all the participants of the opening ceremony of the festival was the premiere screening of the film by director and screenwriter Konstantin Bronzit He Can't Live Without Space. A cartoon-drama about a mother and her only son, who is dressed in a spacesuit from infancy. Space as a life purpose – this is the main theme of the film.

The continuation of the festival was a creative meeting with the director, where everyone could ask questions about their new job online. It was hosted by Tatyana Zorina.

The director of the film told the festival participants about its history, about his creative pursuits, about his like-minded artists. At the end of the meeting, Konstantin Bronzit asked the university students to understand their own life as their main profession, appreciate teachers and be aware of their own destiny.

At the end of the evening, the chairman of the Saratov branch of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, Director of the Gagarin.doc festival Lyubov Burina presented the prize of the organizing committee of the festival to Konstantin Bronzit for the popularization of art. The head of the art program of the festival Irina Sosnovskaya presented the same prize For a lively and ironic visual study of popular science and pseudoscientific media content on space issues to the creative group of students titled the Group 21 (IPJ), participants in the national program of the international competition of student short films. They have prepared a video work Space is waiting for us.

The festival of cinema, research, and contemporary art will run at the Saratov venues until April 8. Its programme can be found here. All lectures will be available online on the SSU YouTube channel.