Yakut Drama «Legends of Eternal Snows» Vies for Nika Award

The film «Legends of Eternal Snows» by Yakut director Alexei Romanov has made the longlist for the prestigious Russian film award «Nika». This was reported by the Telegram channel of SakhaFilm.

The film is nominated in five key categories: «Best Film», «Best Director», «Best Screenplay», «Best Cinematography», and «Best Production Design». The first round of selection has begun. Members of the Russian Academy of Cinematographic Arts will determine the finalists by voting, which will run until February 19.

This is not the first time Yakut filmmakers have participated in the «Nika» ceremony. Last year, the film «Summer Will End» by directors Vladimir Munkuev and Maxim Arbugaev won in the category «Best Editing».

The film «Legends of Eternal Snows» was released in 2024. According to the Kinopoisk service, nearly 16,000 people watched it, and box office earnings over seven weeks of release amounted to 4.9 million rubles ($54,400 at current rates). The story unfolds in pre-revolutionary Yakutia. An elderly, experienced lone hunter named Khabiy is tasked with delivering a young girl named Kiluk to an old prince against her will as a bride. During the harsh winter journey, the heroes, by fate, end up in an abandoned yurt, where they encounter mystical events and echoes of the past. A distinctive feature of the film is that it is the first to feature Even language dialogue.

Alexei Romanov«s film also won the Grand Prix at the Bishkek and Kazan International Film Festivals in the same year, and in 2025 it became a laureate in the category «Best Full-Length Feature, Non-Fiction, Animated Film or Series» at the 2nd Far Eastern Film Award and an award in the category «Best Film in an Indigenous Language» at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).