The special project by TV BRICS, "Uralian Anomaly" (2025, written by Ksenia Komissarova, Chief Director – Andrey Porshnyak, Chief Cameraman – Dmitry Golovko, produced by Liana Beltran-Belskaya), has been named among the winners of the VII MineMovie International Short Documentary Film Festival on the Mining Industry in the category Best Film on Profession and Human Capital Development. The film was also honoured with a special award from Russia’s largest geological exploration holding.

MineMovie has been held since 2019 as part of the MINEX Mining Forum. This year’s festival saw a record number of submissions – 100 films from 44 participants representing Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. As organisers told TV BRICS in an exclusive comment, entries were judged based on their relevance to the festival’s theme, originality of the idea, artistic approach, and technical quality. Particular attention was paid to each film’s contribution to promoting mining professions and advancing scientific and technological sovereignty.

“The mission and idea of the festival are to make widely known the remarkable films produced by mining companies, to raise the prestige of mining and geological professions, and to highlight the importance of work in the extractive industries, which form the foundation of our country’s economy,” emphasised Aleksander Prokin, producer of the MineMovie Film Festival.

Other award categories included Best Popular Science Film, Best Corporate Film, Mining Chronicles, Best Innovation Film, Best Environmental Project Film, Best Advertisement, Best Social Project Film, and Best Musical Film/Clip.

The TV BRICS film "Uralian Anomaly" explores the profession of a geologist, gold mining technologies, and geological research in the Ural region. Filming took place in the Sverdlovsk Region, one of Russia’s key resource territories, where traditions of domestic geology are combined with cutting-edge subsoil use technologies.

"This film tells the story of one of the most fascinating professions, which is once again gaining popularity. The theme of geology and geological exploration is highly relevant for many countries today, including BRICS members. Perhaps that is why 'Uralian Anomaly' was warmly received by both Russian and international audiences. Thanks to TV BRICS’ partner media network, the documentary has been screened in many countries around the world. And of course, it is deeply meaningful for us that the project received such high recognition from the professional community – the heroes of 'Uralian Anomaly', other mining specialists, and the respected jury of the 2025 MineMovie International Film Festival"

Ksenia Komissarova Author of the film "Uralian Anomaly" and TV BRICS Editor-in-Chief

Sergey Verezemsky, Director of Public Relations at the Russian geological exploration holding that presented the special award to the TV BRICS project, noted that the film not only conveys the spirit of the profession but also showcases the real work of geologists at every stage – from exploration to extraction.

“It is an outstanding project in terms of execution, cinematography, and journalism. [...] The creators have done an excellent job portraying geologists at every stage of their work – from the very first steps of initial prospecting and assessment, to the development and discovery of deposits, data processing and analytical work, and finally, the geologists’ activities at the mining site,” he said in an exclusive comment to the media network.

The premiere of "Uralian Anomaly" took place in Ekaterinburg in January 2025. The film has already been featured at several international film events: at the " Rendezvous with Russia. Siberian Character" International Film Festival in Omsk, in a special programme at the "Lions of Fire" International Film Festival, and in the out-of-competition documentary section at the XIX Gibara International Low Budget Film Festival (FIC Gibara), Cuba (Holguín Province).

The film also won in the category of Best Documentary Film at the I-Film Festival in the United Arab Emirates and was included in the competition programme of the II Antares International Film Festival.

Last year, another TV BRICS documentary project – "The Golden Coast of the Arctic" (2023, directed by Andrey Porshnyak, written by Ksenia Komissarova) – was shortlisted for the VI MineMovie International Festival in the category of Best Innovation Film. The documentary focuses on new technologies being implemented at the Mayskoe gold deposit.

Photo: TV BRICS / MINEX forum organisers