On November 7, 2026, the XX International Russian Abroad Film Festival opened in Moscow, at the Solzhenitsyn House of Russian Abroad.
Hieromonk Kirill (Peregudin), an employee of the Secretariat of the Department for External Church Relations for Foreign Affairs, took part in the opening ceremony. He read out the greeting of Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the DECR.
In his address, Metropolitan Anthony noted that this year's festival program is associated with a number of memorable dates dedicated to prominent church figures. Among them are St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, Protopresbyter Vasily Zenkovsky and Priest Alexander Yelchaninov.
According to Metropolitan Anthony, these anniversaries provide an opportunity to revisit the rich spiritual, cultural and intellectual heritage of the Russian diaspora.
A special place in the program is occupied by shows dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the artist Ivan Bilibin, whose work is closely linked with the images of Russian spiritual culture.
The festival presents more than fifty domestic and foreign feature films and documentaries dedicated to the history, culture and destinies of representatives of the Russian diaspora.
Russian Russian Abroad House named after A.I. Solzhenitsyn is organizing the festival in cooperation with the Russian Diaspora Heritage Foundation with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Rossotrudnichestvo, the Moscow City Duma and the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.