On 26 September the XII-th Baikal International Festival of Popular-Science and Documentary Films “People and Environment” opens in Irkutsk. The Fund for Protection of Lake Baikal will represent two its documentaries “To the Depths of Baikal” and “Planet Baikal”.

The festival is conceived by the organizers as the filmmaking site, which makes think about the relationships between people and environment. The aim of the festival is to form environmental awareness by means of cinema.

In 2013 more than 150 popular-science and documentary films from 36 countries of the world were received for the festival. When all the films had been watched, the selection committee formed competitive and non-competitive screening programs. As a non-competitive part the viewer will see, in particular, “Baikal program” about the Great Lake.

Scientific film “To the Depths of Baikal” of Moscow director Alexander Kanevich devoted to the study of Lake Baikal, which took place at the International Scientific Expedition “Mirs at Lake Baikal”. The audience will see underwater shootings of rare beauty made from the Manned Submersibles “Mir”, the picturesque landscape of Lake Baikal, a story of the amazing discoveries made by the expedition.

The documentary “Planet Baikal” of studio “Roskosmos” considers Lake Baikal as an unusual phenomenon that holds many secrets and mysteries. A film crew together with scientists decided to unravel this mystery by checking one of the most extraordinary scientific versions: circles on the ice of Lake Baikal as a powerful traces of methane emissions from the lake.

Also in the festival program - special screenings, discussions, meetings with films directors and producers, work-shops of the famous cinematographers, photo exhibitions, round-tables and the most important - new sincere documentary films of a high quality from all over the world.

The Fund for Protection of Lake Baikal invites all on 29 September to the Irkutsk Dom Kino at 14:20 to “Baikal Program”.