A solemn ceremony of awarding the winners of the first stage of the XXII International Student Film Festival "PiterKiT" took place at SPUFT. All the winners proceeded to the second stage of the competition, they will compete with the works of students of Russian and foreign film schools.

The ceremony was opened with the song "There is only a moment" from the 1973 film "Sannikov Land" performed by students of the University. After that, the audience saw a documentary about the first stage of "PiterKiT". It includes behind-the-scenes footage, comments from the top officials of the festival, as well as fragments of master classes.

At the request of the jury, the prize for the best student acting was presented by the president of the Festival, People's Artist of the RSFSR Mikhail Boyarsky. The award was received by a 4th year student of V. Retsepter's class, Corinna Kolovskaya for her role in the film "I'm Sorry, Mom" (directed by Elizaveta Kutyavina, SPUFT, I. Kazankov and N. Kotyash's class, 6th year).

"I watched all the works and I am so jealous of those who take part in this Festival. There are many wonderful works, but there also are films that could have been better. I haven't seen any really bad movies. And I was very pleased to discover that the films I drew my attention to were made by the students of the same class – A. Antonov's. I am extremely glad that I had enough... no, not patience, but pleasure to watch all the works. I congratulate their creators on their success. And I hope that this Festival will receive further international development. Good luck to all of you!" said M. Boyarsky.

Chairman of the Festival first stage's jury, director of feature films, actor, screenwriter A. Sievers presented the award for the best implemented script. K. Veselov (A. Antonov's class, 5th year) received the prize for the film "Letters from the Flying Island".

"The jury had such a hard night. We finished the discussion near 4 am and almost got into a fight. I mean, sometimes there is a very conventional distinction between the one who got the prize and the one who didn't get it. Therefore, I want to ask in advance those who will not receive the award to believe in themselves," pointed out A. Sievers.

The prize in the main nomination "The best film of the festival" was presented by the general producer of the festival, Rector of SPUFT N. Gorina together with A. Sievers and M. Boyarsky. The whale statuette was received by E. Verkhozina (A. Antonov's class, 5th year) for the work "We Grieve". Members of the film crew came up to the stage to collect the award. The director of the film spoke with words of gratitude remotely.

"I want to say thank you to my film crew. Unfortunately, we had to perform heroic labor feats while working on the film. I miss you very much and appreciate how much effort and emotion all of you put into the film. And I will try to do everything so that as many viewers as possible could see it. Many thanks to my mentor. And special thanks to the teachers, because without them I would not have learned anything. Guys, take care of the teachers who share their knowledge, efforts and time with you. Thank you to the jury and the audience!" said E. Verkhozina.

Rector of SPUFT, N. Gorina, thanked M. Boyarsky for his consent to become a president of the Festival and expressed hope that his participation in the "PiterKiT" will continue further. She also thanked the experts who evaluated the students' films.

"Many thanks to our esteemed jury, who did not pity themselves. At some point, I was afraid that our experts would not stand it. But they not only withstood, but also plunged into work with interest, hotly arguing about the winners. I am very glad that this Festival took place, and so many beautiful works were selected to participate in the competition. These films made our Festival!" – noted N. Gorina.

List of winners of the first stage of the XXII International Student Film Festival "PiterKiT":

• Best film - "We Mourn", directed by E. Verkhozina (A. Antonov's class), cameraman S. Alexandrov ( M. Bagaev and V. Vasilyev's class), sound engineer D. Mezentsev (M. Sheinman and P.  Volynkina's class), produced by V. Golovkin;
• Best work of a producer - E. Ermakova, the film "Phantom Pains" (P. Danilov and N. Sabelnikova's class);
• Best work of a producer - E. Ermakova, the film "Phantom Pains" (P. Danilov and N. Sabelnikova's class);
• Best debut film named after the founder of the festival V. Semenyuk - "Young Man M", directed by A. Pavlova (V. Tatar's class);
• Best director of a feature film - D. Pozdyrka (A. Antonov's class) for the film "Cohabitation";
• Best director of a non–fiction film - P. Zelenov for the film "My friend Alexander Grigoryevich" (S. Ovcharov's class);
• Best director of an animated film – D. Kovaleva (O. Rybalko and V. Efimova's class) for the film "After myself";
• Best (implemented) script – K. Veselov (A. Antonov's class) for the film "Letters from the flying Island";
• Best cinematography – A. Khromov (D.  Dolinin and S. Kovalenko's class) for the film "Cohabitation";
• Best sound engineering - D. Medvedev (V. Persova and M. Sheinman's class) for the film "A Tale about the property of Time";
• Best student acting work - K. Kolovskaya (V. E. Retsepter's class) for the role of Katya in the film "Sorry, Mom".