Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 2 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 2 (2023)

With the growing awareness of the importance of impact assessment in the film industry, the examples of positioning with a focus on social impact are becoming increasingly common – the Lampa Impact Film Festival, special nominations at professional festivals, competitions and awards, such as Media Brand and Advertising of the Future, and numerous studies and articles devoted to this issue. For example, the 2022 Social Effects of Cinema study[17] conducted by The Center for Social Projects “Platforma” together with the National Media Group (NMG). So far, unfortunately, the study only captures a snapshot of the situation, but does not tell what exactly needs to be done to implement the assessment; however, the authors have already announced its planned expansion, continuing to research the social impact of cinematography and updating the assessment methodology of social effects. According to the information available to us, the updated study will be presented to the expert community at the next St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June and at Russian Creative Week in Moscow in July.

The relevance of “measuring” the viewers’ perception of the information being broadcast is also discussed by opinion leaders. For example, Artem Metelev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy and Chairman of the Association of Volunteer Centers, suggested that the Internet Development Institute (IDI) include qualitative attributes, namely social impact assessment, in the project evaluation criteria. “After all, the most important thing in films or TV series, especially those funded by the state, is the impact on a person’s worldview, beliefs and further life. … The main thing should be the meanings,” Artem Metelev writes in his Telegram channel. As a result of this initiative, a new indicator, “Social Effect of Project Implementation,” with a weight of 15 %, was added to the IDI tender evaluation system in 2023.

Moreover, the concern about expanding the film production evaluation system has been raised at the highest level. In 2021, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, following a meeting of the Government Council for the Development of National Cinematography, instructed the Ministry of Culture, together with the Cinema Fund and the professional community to finalize the National Cinematography Development Concept until 2030, including the need to establish indicators of its effectiveness[18].

“The government, of course, will be ready to provide financial, administrative and legal support. But as soon as the state subsidy has been received, the producer works in a market environment. … And the result should be not in how much money was used, but in the box office and an assessment of the impact the film had on the society. … Let’s have a rating for this, let’s see. Because I’m sure there are movies that won’t bring any dividends or revenue, but can have such a great impact on people that we will all heartily support it. And the state will support it,” Mishustin said.

During the meeting, Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova emphasized that “the Ministry’s task is to develop the art of cinema. The Cinema Fund, on the other hand, is focused on supporting big-budget entertainment projects. In this regard, the department is interested in debut films, auteur cinema, social impact films, children’s cinema, documentary and popular science films and auteur animation.”

The need to develop qualitative assessment methods to evaluate the content created, the fact that the film industry is not only about numbers and money, but also about producing behavioral experience and value systems, was emphasized at the meeting by Fedor Sosnov, the Russian Cinema Fund’s Executive Director, Leonid Vereshchagin, General Director of Nikita Mikhalkov’s TriTe Studio, and Konstantin Ernst, General Director of Channel One Russia[19].

IMPACT FACTOR TODAY

The relevance of social impact of a film as its success criteria is receiving more and more attention, and everyone seems to be coming to realization that social impact is just as important as the quantitative indicators. There is a clear understanding that this assessment format is becoming a trend to focus on.

We talked to key experts in film production about the prospects for the development of impact assessment in the domestic film market.