According to the festival's program director, Ivan Kudryavtsev, over 200 films have been announced for this year's festival programs. A total of 1,500 submissions were received from 43 countries. 19 screenings at the festival will be world premieres. The main competition includes 13 films.

As reported by the Telegram channel На Востоке не все как кажется: the festival has moved away from the “one country, one film” principle, allowing multiple entries from the same country, including two films each from Spain, Italy, and South Korea. Uzbek cinema, however, is absent from the line-up. 

Central Asia is nevertheless represented by the Tajik film The Fish on the Hook, directed by Muhiddin Muzaffar and written by Bakhtiyor Karimov. The film, a co-production between Tajikistan and Iran, has already won the Grand Prix at the second Toji Somon International Film Festival in Dushanbe.

The main competition will be judged by a jury chaired by Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage. Other members include actress Darya Ekamasova, director Ivan Tverdovsky, Turkish producer Mahmut Fazil Coskun, Chinese actress Jin Sha, and Spanish director Javier Rebollo.

The festival runs until 23 April.