PH International, with the support of the U.S. Embassy in the Russian Federation, is proud to announce the winners of the Russian American History Video Contest 2019.
We received 114 creative and exciting videos about different things (objects, inventions, innovations) that are originally from America but that exist today in Russia and serve as examples of our common culture and shared values. All videos were evaluated by a team of experts including representatives of the Fort Ross Conservancy, U.S. and Russian professors of history, IT specialists, and international relations experts.
Project topics were extremely different – from smart phones, Google, hamburgers and nylon to personal and historical items connecting families in the Unites States and Russia. This year the contest was very competitive; all topics were well researched, videos were thrilling and interesting to watch. All these factors made the work of the panel very difficult.
After the first selection step thirteen highly-qualified semifinalist teams were selected to be interviewed. Four winning teams have been selected based on the interview results.
The ticket to the future, a team from Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia told the story of American Finns who arrived in Russia, and in Petrozavodsk in particular, in the 1930-s to build their new life. The animated story with lots of hand cut paper scenes tells about the people who once belonged to the USA and then inspired the Russian city development.
Bee Bees or Bashkir Bees from Salavat, Republic of Bashkortostan, share a story of a book that came to the USSR during the Books Collection Drive after World War II, and then was found in Salavat School Library. The team made a research and found a person who donated this particular book when he was still a school boy.
Lingva Tigers team from Artem, Primorskii Region tells the fascinating story of saving and preserving Amur tigers with the help of GPS, a technology from the U.S. serving Russian needs. Hand-made cartoons, deep research, and interviews with specialists made the video so exciting.
Donuts team from Bakchar, Tomsk region chose its name on purpose. Their video story about combine harvesters tells about the American invention that made the life of many Russian people easier, helping with bread production.
The winners travelled to the United States in July 2019 to visit New York City, Washington D.C., San Francisco, California and Sitka, Alaska. They also participated in the annual Fort Ross Festival.
The nine semi-finalist teams will receive prizes and certificates:
Detective Agency “TimeExplorers”, Moscow
The Sound Waves, Tula
“Let it jazz,” Moscow
TV crew Korobka Peredach, Yaroslavl
Tractor, Chelyabinsk
Vaccine, Omsk
Ravens, Syktyvkar
AdAstra, Novomoskovsk
Dreamers, Glazov
We congratulate all teams for their efforts and thank everyone who participated!
