Realist (EN)

Vertical Drama International Festival

July 10-20th, 2026

entry form

ABOUT

REALIST is an international web series festival, which was the first in Russia to introduce in 2018 the format of short series made for the Internet. The founder and director of the festival is Anton Kalinkin, an independent producer who runs top festival events in the country.

2026 marks a milestone when the festival takes full focus on the fast-developing segments of Vertical Drama and Microdrama and adds international projects to its competition.

In 2026, REALIST will bring together the audience, platforms, rights holders, producers, and creators working in one of the fastest-growing audiovisual formats in the world.

FESTIVAL & B2B Program

Submissions run from May 12th through June 20th, 2026

Online

The festival runs on the Chill vertical app and online platform — viewers watch competition entries and vote for winners directly on the platform.

Offline

Industry B2B program and master classes in Moscow. Panels on the future of vertical content in CIS with top players of the global microdrama landscape.

REALIST is launching at a time when Russia is emerging as a new prospective market for the vertical format where audience demand is visible and the ecosystem for vertical-first production is still being formed.

In that environment, REALIST is designed not only to present content, but also to help international producers, studios and platforms test the market response, build relationships and explore distribution opportunities in Russia and CIS region.