Int'l film festival kicks off in Russia's Siberia

An international film festival opened Friday in Russia's small Siberian city of Kansk, attracting 1,460 applicant works, including five from Russia.

In the nine-day International Kansk video festival, 55 films, made by directors from the United States, Australia, Austria, France, Germany and Greece, will be screened.

This year's festival includes two sections: experimental alternative films and videos, and mainstream short films.

A professional jury, consisting of film critics, artists, directors and producers from Germany, France, Spain and Russia, will decide on qualities of the first section films, and spectators will choose the best from the second section.

The festival, held in Kansk every year since 2002 and sponsored by Russian cultural and tourism administrations, aims at promoting young names in independent videos and film industry.