Shortlist

Film Description

Egypt – the Cradle of Ancient Civilization. The starry sky, gods and temples, the stories of the lives and deaths of the pharaohs, mythical and real-life heroes—all this comes together in a whimsical interweaving of astronomy, history, and architecture. The film was created by students of the P. L. Kapitsa Phystech Lyceum.

Film Description

A mysterious script, the written sources of which were almost completely destroyed by the Inquisition and a harsh climate. A civilization fascinated by time and the sky. What did the Mayans know about astronomy, and how have modern researchers managed to recover this knowledge?

The film was created by students of the P. L. Kapitsa Phystech Lyceum.

Film Description

“Chrononaut” is an educational fulldome journey through 13.8 billion years of the universe’s history. From the Big Bang and the emergence of life to the development of human civilization, the moon landing, and the exploration of Mars, viewers witness the most important events that changed the world.

The film combines cosmology, biology, paleontology, history, and modern technology. In a captivating format, it tells the story of the origin of life, human evolution, the emergence of writing, scientific discoveries, the Industrial Revolution, and the advent of artificial intelligence.

Embarking on a journey as Krononauts, viewers learn that history is not just a sequence of dates, but a unified chain of discoveries, ideas, and inventions. The film encourages reflection on the role of each person in the development of society and their responsibility for the future of our planet.

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Film Description

Film Description

For thousands of years, people have looked at the stars and wondered whether there might be other worlds similar to our own.

Today, we know that planets orbiting other stars are real. The Universe is home to scorching gas giants, planets with two suns, ocean worlds, and rocky super-Earths. But how have scientists managed to discover objects that cannot be observed directly?

The fulldome lecture “Exoplanets: Worlds Beyond the Sun” invites audiences on a journey from the earliest ideas of ancient philosophers to modern space telescopes that are discovering thousands of new worlds.

Viewers will learn how astronomers detect the subtle wobbling of stars, measure tiny changes in their brightness, and use indirect evidence to determine the size, mass, temperature, and even the possible composition of the atmospheres of distant planets.

It is a story about the search for other worlds and humanity’s gradual progress toward answering one of the greatest questions of all: are we alone in the Universe?

Film Description

Even in rainy weather or during the day, you can admire the sky full of stars at the planetarium. However, this amazing invention did not arise in isolation. Throughout history, humanity has been fascinated by the night sky and has created various mechanical models. Ultimately, this quest led to the development of technology capable of reproducing the movement of the stars.

Even in ancient Greece, celestial globes, mechanical models of the solar system, and astrolabes were created to simulate the movement of stars and planets. How did these devices influence the emergence and development of modern planetariums?

This fulldome film will transport viewers back a century. Following the accounts of the early inventors, they will relive the challenges, discoveries, and triumphs that accompanied the birth of the modern planetarium.

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Film Description

“Children in the Neural Network” is a new project for schoolchildren, in which modern technology meets the heroes of classic literature under the dome of the Lakhta Center Planetarium.

Together with 11-year-old schoolboy Vanya and his digital assistant, an artificial intelligence, viewers will take a fascinating multimedia journey through the universes of great books.

This show is not only a vibrant experience but also a search for answers to important questions about friendship, choice, and growing up. Artificial intelligence doesn’t provide ready-made answers, but rather tries to help Vanya understand eternal themes and the differences between human and neural network worldviews.

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Film Description

The fulldome film “Eva” is a reflection on humanity’s place in nature and the universe, on how human experience, values, and mistakes are transferred beyond the confines of our home planet. In search of a new home, humanity encounters not only uncharted worlds but also its own habits, fears, and notions of what is acceptable.

When humans explore other planets, they inevitably bring Earth with them—its culture, its ways of thinking, and the consequences of past decisions. A fundamental question arises: is humanity capable of creating a harmonious environment without destroying it in the same way it destroys Earth’s familiar ecosystem? Or, even beyond our home planet, are we still hostage to our own past?

“Eva” offers no definitive answers. The film invites viewers to consider the limits of human responsibility to nature, the price of progress, and whether a new form of coexistence with the environment is possible—without repeating old mistakes.

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Film Description

This is a screen adaptation depicting the life of Grain of Sand on Earth. The film’s heroine, an ordinary quartz grain of sand. She tells a captivating and mysterious story about the origin of the Universe, the Solar System, and the emergence of the planets, before turning to her own birth and adventures on Earth, which ultimately lead her to a children’s sandbox. This is a poetic account by a touching heroine who travels through time and space with curiosity, humor, and playfulness. She dreams of finding friends, but no one notices her.

“The Story of a Grain of Sand” is not just a poetic narrative about the journey of a tiny particle through time and space. Behind the scenes lies meticulous work that transforms a beautiful concept into a credible story grounded in real scientific data. Scientists also contributed to the script as consultants, helping the author maintain a balance between artistic imagination and scientific accuracy.

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Film Description

Can a person be imagined as a separate universe?

“The Cosmos of Everything in the World” is a musical and theatrical show created specifically for the dome screen of the Lakhta Center Planetarium.

You will find yourself inside the dome, where music, voice, and digital graphics merge into a single space. Stars, light, and movement create images through which the story of a person and their place in the universe unfolds.

This is a story about what unites people: love, friendship, creativity, memory, and light. It is about how the cosmos within us is connected to the vast, incomprehensible world around us.

Film Description

What is the Universe? When did it appear, how did it evolve? Does it have boundaries? Is there only one Universe, or are there many? These eternal questions are explored in the new popular science program of the Russian Association of Planetariums using unique, yet scientifically accurate, vibrant visual images.

Film Description

Few phenomena have had such a profound impact on the history of civilization as human interaction with the sky. This is evidenced by megalithic stone circles, the emergence of astronomy in ancient Greece, and modern ocean navigation technologies. Even the most ancient archaeological sites demonstrate the important role the sky played in people’s practical lives and in mythological understandings of the world passed down from generation to generation.

The planetarium has become a modern continuation of the centuries-old tradition of studying the starry sky and the surrounding cosmos. The centenary of its invention is an excellent opportunity to tell this story. The film “Our Sky Story” invites viewers on a journey from early human cultures to the present day. Following changing understandings of the sky, we ultimately return to reflect on ourselves.

Film Description

Many millennia ago, people noticed that some stars in the sky moved in a special way. Legends were written about them, and they were studied with great interest. Over time, mankind made many discoveries to unravel the mysterious nature of these unusual objects — the planets of the solar system.

Space missions sent to all corners of the solar system have revolutionised humanity’s understanding of the formation of planets, their geological structure, and climate. The Moscow Planetarium’s new film offers a glimpse into the extraordinary worlds that have been discovered by mankind. Computer graphics based on current scientific data provide insight into each planet and the Sun.The viewer will witness Mars’ deserts, Neptune’s diamond rains, Jupiter’s birth, the mountains on Saturn’s rings, and other spectacular phenomena. Distant celestial objects will reveal their true grandeur!

Film description

“Pokryshkin. “Formula of Victory” is the first Russian fulldome feature film dedicated to the combat career of the legendary World War II pilot and first three-time Hero of the Soviet Union, Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin.

Viewers will witness the development of Pokryshkin’s personality and his journey from a simple Novosibirsk boy to a celebrated ace pilot. They will join Alexander Ivanovich from the first to the last day of the war, finding themselves in the thick of aerial battles and discovering how the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment became a true “forge of aces.”

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Film Description

Our Association is pleased to collaborate with Russian scientific organizations. We want to demonstrate that our country has extraordinary scientific potential. Every year, dozens of discoveries are made in Russia, making them available to all humanity. This story, along with the history of observational astronomy in our country and, most importantly, the modern space telescopes operating in orbit, is about this.

Film Description

“Listening Point: Arctic” is a fulldome musical documentary created by composers-in-residence at the House of Radio (Egor Ananko, sound artist and curator of the Experimental Sound Laboratory program at the House of Radio), Victoria Kharkevich (sound artist and curator of the experimental music concert program at the House of Radio), and Andreas Mustukis, in collaboration with the company “Consumer Culture” and Gazprom.

It combines documentary filmmaking, experimental music, sound research, and work with natural acoustics, transforming field recordings into a fully-fledged artistic work. The project grew out of the practice of the Experimental Sound Laboratory at the House of Radio, which explores working with inaudible frequencies, conducting field research, and searching for sound in the environment. During an expedition to the Arctic, the Laboratory team recorded sounds typically beyond human perception: the electromagnetic pulse of the polar auroras, the vibrations of ice and rock, the hum of hydroelectric power plants, and the breath of the wind and sea.

Field recording became a means of observation and immersion: the authors did not interfere with the space, but rather captured the moment when it began to sound. These impressions and recordings later formed the basis for writing original vocal and electroacoustic music, which is perceived as a continuation of what is heard in nature.

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Film Description

This fulldome documentary explores humanity’s place in the universe, linking astronomy, geology, and culture. The story takes us from the Big Bang through the vastness of the solar system back to Earth to reveal the forces that shaped our planet.

Special attention is paid to Cyprus and the Troodos Mountains, where unique ancient oceanic crust is visible on the surface. The film weaves together science and heritage, from Byzantine architecture to data from modern satellites and telescopes. This inspiring story about the origins of life and the future of space exploration encourages viewers to look to the stars more often.

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Film Description

“It seems to us that they have always been there—the stars—majestic and devastating. Their ancient history is a series of metamorphoses. From birth to death, from catastrophe to transformation. Our reality is an echo of their lives.

This film tells the story of the stars: from the very first star to the stars whose light we now observe in the sky. We will learn how stars are born, how they change throughout their lives, and how they die. We will see magnificent, calm giants and turbulent red dwarfs. We will fly above the surface of the Sun and fly alongside a solar prominence. We will peer into the previously unknown depths of the stars, into their hearts, filled with chemical elements and light.”

Film Description

Accompanied by the light of ancient and distant stars, we will walk sideways with the BLUE CRAB mom through the mangroves of Colombia, we will submerge into the Cauca River to swim along the STRIPED CATFISH mom on her journey to navigate against the river’s murky current, and we will travel across the hazy Paramo Del Sol while we follow the path molded by the PUMA mom’s footprints.

Among forests of water that speak with the sky, murky and torrential river streams, and mountains that dwell among clouds, we will witness their luminous apparitions in the dome of the Planetarium.

Program Description

As part of the “Legends of Instrumental Music” project, the captivating musical and visual show “4 ELEMENTS” is where sound becomes light and space ceases to be flat.

The incredible music of composer Sergey Sirotin and his Golden Light Orchestra project fills the hall and reaches the very hearts of listeners who appreciate and love live music! The sounds of the saxophone intertwine harmoniously with the piano, while the bass and drums gently accentuate it. Each musician reveals their element: from the rhythms of the earth to the subtlest vibrations of the air, immersing you in the history of the creation of the world! Fire dances overhead, water flows through the stars, air rushes in a vortex, and the earth pulsates from within. Everything around moves, breathes, reacts to the music. You are within the story itself.

The program’s director, Olga Konstantinou, creates not a plot, but a state. There are few words and dialogues. Only the energy of the elements, which speaks for itself.

Fire is an inner impulse, like the force of beginnings.
Water is movement, depth, acceptance.
Air is freedom, inspiration, change.
Earth is support, roots, a return to oneself.

The entire show is like immersion, performance, and cosmic travel all at once. This is an experience that leaves you wanting to remain silent… and return to your dreams.

Program Description

This immersive musical invites viewers on an amazing cosmic journey.

The Snow Queen has frozen Nadya’s feelings and imprisoned her in an icy prison. To save her friend, Yura and the robot Astrobryak embark on dangerous adventures. Mysterious worlds, trials in different multiverses, and a secret star code capable of breaking the spell await them.

Icy planets, shining nebulae, and fantastical landscapes come to life in the dome. Viewers become direct participants in the events: they help the characters, solve riddles, and, together with them, discover the power of friendship, courage, and kindness.

Description of the work

The video combines three fragments from the musical shows for the planetariums “Heart of Civilization” and “Shop of Worlds,” based on science fiction stories. The project combines original music, fulldome graphics, and visual storytelling.

Description of the Work

In “Nadir,” brutalist form becomes the starting point of a continuous journey to ever smaller scales—into the hidden layers of fractal structure. Created specifically for LED domes, the film gradually transports the viewer from monumental architectural gravity into a space of constantly shifting geometries—deeply unfamiliar and at the same time strangely nostalgic.

Description of the Work

Immersiveness transforms visual and auditory perception through the fusion of visual images and sound. An immersive work can be imagined as a pulsating space for artistic expression created through light and sound.

This fulldome work, created specifically for the festival, offers an audiovisual experience that transcends traditional cinema. The boundaries of the screen and the usual separation between viewer and image disappear.

The entire dome is transformed into a living theatrical space. Immersive art becomes an intellectually and emotionally charged process of perceiving an environment in which visual images interact with sound and the emotions it evokes.

The author combines visual arts with educational research, implementing interdisciplinary projects using his own technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the National Institute of Fine Arts and also completed a postgraduate program in pedagogy.

Over the past four years, Fulldome Mexico has presented its projects at international festivals and professional venues around the world, including:

• Fulldome Festival, Germany;
• Dome Fest West and Macon Festival, USA;
• Fulldome UK, UK;
• Immersphere and Efemera Imagen Labinter Interartec Festival, Brazil;
• Dome Under Festival, Australia;
• Société des arts technologiques, Canada;
• Cottbus Dome Festival, Germany;
• Siberia Fulldome Fest, Russia;
• Tsiolkovsky International Film Festival, Russia.

Representatives of Fulldome Mexico also gave academic talks at the National Museum of the Republic in Brasilia in 2024, at the International Planetarium Society conference in Berlin in 2024, at the University of Costa Rica in 2023, and at the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences in 2022.

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Description of the work

Magical, romantic, menacing, mysterious, funny… What else could the Moon be?

“Symphony of the Moon. 7 Transformations” is seven musical animation fantasies revealing the different images and moods of Earth’s eternal companion.

A rendezvous between two galaxies, a magical moon river, a battle with an angry star, a fight with dark matter, a “hunt” for constellations, the far side of the Moon – all this and much more will appear before the audience on the dome, accompanied by a fascinating musical score!

Film Description

“Arctic, Wait!” is a music video created for the second anniversary of the all-Russian project “Team Arctic.”

The project brings together young researchers, engineers, volunteers, and representatives of creative teams involved in the study and development of Russia’s high-latitude regions. “Team Arctic” was established in 2024 at MIREA — Russian Technological University.

The project’s goal is to develop professional human resources and preserve Russia’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage. Over two years, participants conducted more than 200 expeditions. The project’s geography covered 46 regions of Russia and 12 foreign countries, all six continents, and the North Pole.

Lecture description

Everyone knows the legend of the miraculous star from childhood. But what celestial phenomenon led the Magi from the East?

Why can Christmas be celebrated in January or December? What is the Invincible Sun? And what does the Earth’s orbit have to do with it?
In the lecture “The Star of Bethlehem,” we’ll follow the tails of comets, leaf through ancient Chinese chronicles, see voracious stars, and much more!

Christmas and space await us!

About the lecturer

Bella Viktorovna Yuryeva is a specialist with over ten years of experience in planetariums. She manages the Planetarium and Fulldome Content Studio at the P. L. Kapitsa Phystech Lyceum.

She translates fulldome films, creates computer graphics in the SkyExplorer astrosimulator, and creates animation in Adobe Animate. She is the author of the podcast “Gregory vs. Caesar,” dedicated to the history of calendars.

Lecture Description

The fulldome lecture “Duet of Light and Shadow – the Sun and the Moon” is dedicated to the two main celestial bodies that influence life on Earth and create amazing phenomena in the sky.

Auditors will become acquainted with the most important star for us – the Sun – and learn about its birth, structure, processes occurring on it, and subsequent evolution. A separate section of the program is dedicated to the Moon: its phases, eclipses, and the history of exploration – from the first Soviet unmanned stations to modern lunar missions.

The Sun and Moon give the Earth light and shadow, determine natural cycles, and have influenced human culture for millennia. The lecture is accompanied by rich fulldome visuals.

Main topics

• The birth, structure, and evolution of the Sun;
• Sunspots, prominences, flares, and solar wind;
• The relationship between solar activity and the auroras;
• Characteristics and phases of the Moon;
• Lunar eclipses;
• The history of lunar exploration—from the Luna and Apollo programs to the Artemis program.

About the Lecturer

Alexandra Stosh was born and raised in the Arctic city of Kirovsk in the Murmansk region. Since childhood, she has been interested in the starry sky, auroras, lunar phases, constellations, and ancient Greek mythology.

She received a humanities education, specializing in “Theory and Practice of Intercultural Communication.” Her interest in space led her to the first polar planetarium, where her fascination with the starry sky became a professional pursuit.

Lecture Description

This popular science lecture traces the evolution of human understanding of comets—from the ominous “fiery omens” of antiquity to the celestial bodies actively studied by unmanned interplanetary probes. We will see how Aristotle’s authority cemented the erroneous notion of comets’ atmospheric origins for two millennia, how Tycho Brahe’s observations in 1577 upended this view, and how Newton’s laws and Halley’s calculations transformed comets into predictable “tailed wanderers.” Particular attention is given to dramatic episodes: the 1910 panic over the “poisonous tail,” the fall of fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 onto Jupiter, and new discoveries. The lecture concludes with a reflection on how comets continue to excite the imagination and inspire new generations of researchers.

About the Lecturer

Olesya Maksimovna Romenskaya is the Head of the Methodology and Educational Department at the Tereshkova Cultural and Educational Center. She has been working in the planetarium field since 2016. She began as a methodologist and leader of an astronomy club, and today she conducts fulldome lectures, star surveys, classes for children, and observations at the observatory.

By education, she is a physics and computer science teacher and a graduate of the K. D. Ushinsky Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University. She also completed the course “Modern Photography and Visual Culture.”

She works with both the Planetarium optical-mechanical apparatus and digital star visualization systems. While pursuing a master’s degree in information technology, she became interested in neural networks and now uses them to create visual materials for fulldome lectures.

Lecture Description

Each of us occasionally looks up at the starry sky, where thousands of objects shine—both near and far. However, the bright lights of the city often blur these vibrant colors of the constellations, and celestial objects seem to disappear in the glare of the metropolis. But how can we find the North Star and stay informed about astronomical events occurring above the city? Thanks to the planetarium, we have the opportunity not only to admire the dark night sky of the northern hemisphere but also to take mental journeys beyond Earth, discovering the amazing secrets of the universe.

About the Lecturer
Andrey Yuryevich Nikiforov is a senior methodologist at the Great Novosibirsk Planetarium, a lecturer, tour guide, and teacher of supplementary astronomy education. He is a member of the Novosibirsk Astronomical Society.
For over ten years, he has been giving lectures under the planetarium dome, introducing listeners to the starry sky and modern understanding of the Universe.

 

Lecture Description

Constellations reflect the mythology and history of the world’s peoples. The program explores the amazing stories hidden behind the familiar contours of constellations. Learn how the ancient Egyptians, Mongols, people of the Southern Hemisphere, and many other cultures viewed the same stars.

About the lecturer

Tatyana Mikhailovna Doroshenko is a tour guide in the Planetarium Department of the M. B. Shatilov Tomsk Regional Museum of Local History. She has a degree in chemistry and crisis management and has completed professional training in excursions and museum practice. She is fluent in English.
She is the author and host of the programs “Women in Space,” “Constellations Through the Lens of Different Cultures,” “Zoo in Orbit: Who Took the First Steps to the Stars,” and the “Tunguska Meteorite” tour.
Her work combines astronomy, culture, and folk traditions. One of her projects is a fulldome program featuring ancient Russian folk tales and live gusli accompaniment.
She also participates in organizing educational events, including the “Space Dictation” for representatives of the “Movement of the First.”

Lecture Description

The lecture “Constellations of the Southern Countries” will introduce viewers to the history of the constellations of the southern hemisphere and the astronomers who explored the southern sky and named its constellations.

Under the dome, viewers will see maps of the southern starry sky, constellation figures, the Magellanic Clouds, and full-dome panoramas of the Cape of Good Hope. Special attention will be paid to the works of Peter Plancius, Johannes Hevelius, and Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille.

About the Lecturer

Alexander Igorevich Chernyshev is an amateur astronomer, photographer, and astrophotographer. Since 2011, he has worked at the Tereshkova Cultural and Educational Center, where he heads the Search and Research Sector.

He creates and delivers full-dome lectures for the Star Hall and leads tours and observations in the planetarium observatory. He has extensive experience organizing on-site astronomical observations with a telescope.

Film Description

One day, at a distant lunar base, Robert the robot meets an unusual sprout friend named Reo, who really wants to find his home. Friends are going on a big, exciting journey to Earth! They are waiting for a flight on a real rocket, an indescribable feeling of weightlessness, colorful underwater depths and a rich world of wildlife. On their way, the heroes will meet many different wonders, but only at the very end point of the route will they discover what the Greatest Miracle of the Universe is!

Film Description

Pushel the cat, hooked on pseudoscientific short videos, and his mouse friend Pip accidentally fall into a smartphone, where, with the help of Sirius the voice assistant, they rediscover the history of cosmonautics in order to return home and save Pushel from digital ignorance.

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Film Description

Join Lila on a captivating 30-minute journey and discover that nature has its own language and its own secret “social networks.”
This immersive film will allow children to see the world around them through the eyes of a scientist: witness the process of photosynthesis from the inside, explore the relationships between living organisms, and learn to identify birds.
Thanks to the fulldome format, complex ecological processes are transformed into a vibrant adventure that helps them understand that everything in nature is interconnected, and understanding these connections is the first step to preserving our common home.

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Film Description

The second part of the fulldome cartoon “Parade of Planets”!

This time, the inhabitants of the Solar System will encounter a mysterious visitor from the depths of the Universe—an interstellar comet. It travels across the Universe, hoping to find planets with unusual properties. Its path is full of dangers and trials. But it is these very trials that lead the heroine to the most unexpected discoveries.

And after enduring these thorny obstacles, it turns out that the most amazing and unusual planet has turned up in our own Solar System! Want to find out what this mysterious world is and why it has so captivated the space traveler? Then hurry and take your seats under the starry dome! A host of vivid impressions, captivating special effects, and a mystery await you that will make you take a fresh look at familiar facts from childhood.

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Film Description

A captivating journey beyond the Arctic Circle in search of the aurora borealis with cats. Kitz, Tutti, and Pepe curiously explore the nature of this phenomenon, while the smartest cat, Dr. Nyandre, explains everything.

Film Description

A short fulldome music video fantasy by young artists, brought to life with the help of modern technology. The plot is based on an ancient Evenki myth about how the moose Buga and his cow friend Ennyn stole the Sun, and the brave hunter Mani and his four faithful dogs set out on a celestial chase to save the light.

Film Description

A story-based curriculum for elementary and middle school students. Young viewers will learn about the Earth’s geography and climate, the natural conditions of different regions of our planet, and the construction of a geographic coordinate system.

You can study our planet from a textbook, but it’s better to visit its different places and see everything with your own eyes. The program’s heroes, after going on a short walk, unexpectedly found themselves on an airship making a test flight around the globe. Although their journey took place along a single meridian, the heroes crossed several continents, islands, and oceans. They flew over ancient and modern cities, visited all of Earth’s climate zones, and overcame many dangers along the way. But in the end, they learned and saw many interesting things, and most importantly, they made true friends.

Film Description

Earth, the distant future. Human civilization has disappeared, but cats have survived and evolved into intelligent creatures. They scavenge the trash left behind by humans. Besides the trash on Earth, orbital objects await them. Who’s sending a signal from a long-abandoned station in space?

Kitz and friends head into orbit to find out!