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From September 10th to 20th. The program includes films about David Bowie and Kanye West, Giorgio Armani, the first supermodel Twiggy, Martin Parr, the World Oatmeal Championships, and audience favorites from previous years.
In addition to the festival’s 17 cities, starting September 10, the best films from the Beat 2026 program will be available online on Kinopoisk , the festival’s long-standing strategic partner.
The opening film for Beat Weekend 2026 in St. Petersburg will be “Bowie: The Last Act” (Jonathan Stiasny, 2025). Shot to mark the tenth anniversary of David Bowie’s death, the film reveals him from an unexpected perspective. It’s the story of how the pop music chameleon dealt with setbacks, doubts, and a fatal diagnosis, turning his final days into a poignant farewell album, Blackstar .
“Twiggy” (Sadie Frost, 2024) is a film about Englishwoman Lesley Hornby, who rose to fame as the first supermodel and a true it-girl for an entire era. The film tells not only Twiggy’s meteoric rise but also her equally eventful life after leaving the world of high fashion. A light, charming portrait of a woman who refused to be held hostage to her own myth, filled with archival treasures. The film will have its Russian premiere at the festival .
The fashion theme continues with “Made in Milan: The Story of Armani and Italian Fashion” (John Maggio, 2026). A portrait of Giorgio Armani, one of the men who changed global fashion, turning Milan into its capital. The film weaves together the brand’s history through behind-the-scenes footage, archives, and industry voices, revealing how its aesthetics influenced film, design, and the concept of modern elegance. The film will be released in Russia on October 1st by Pioneer Film Distribution.
“Kanye West: In the Name of Whom?” (Nico Ballesteros, 2025) spans six years in the life of one of the most talked-about musicians on the planet. Unfiltered and unexplained, the film chronicles Kanye’s journey from genius to loneliness, against the backdrop of his crumbling empire.
Another significant era in music is captured in the film “The Best Summer Ever” (Tamra Davis, 2026), which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s a veritable time capsule documentary, filmed inside an Australian music festival in the mid-1990s. The director’s camera finds itself not only on stage but also behind the scenes, among musicians, friends, and people who don’t yet know they’re becoming part of cultural history: Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Beck, Bikini Kill, and other heroes of the era appear as living people at the moment when it all began.
The festival will also feature “The Story of Concrete” (John Wilson, 2026), an absurdist comedy about the planet’s most important material from John Wilson, creator of the cult HBO series “Hints and Tips.” Applying the principles of glossy rom-coms to concrete mix, the director has created a poignant film about the streaming crisis, frozen time, and the gray matter of our civilization. Another film in the program, “Oatmeal for Champions” (Konstantin Kosti, 2025), offers a fresh perspective on familiar things. This charming film about the world porridge-making championship in the Scottish village of Carrbridge, is shot in the spirit of Wes Anderson and inspired by the works of Martin Parr. And “Aniva Biostation: A Case of Long Will” (Alexander Fedorov, 2026) takes us on an adventure to the picturesque edge of the earth – Sakhalin Island – to the people who, despite numerous difficulties, are working together to build a scientific center of the future, uniting researchers, divers, and volunteers.
The Best of Beat selection features audience favorites from the festival’s past years. These include films about the legendary photographer Martin Parr (I Am Martin Parr) and architect Alvar Aalto (Aalto), the story of architect Elliott Noyes, who taught business the language of design (Modernism. Inc.), a personal portrait of brutalist monuments in the Macedonian city of Skopje (Time of Brutalism), an inspiring story about the culture of running (Running is Freedom), and a story about the team of the animated series Smeshariki, which several generations of Russian children grew up with (Twenty Years with Smeshariki).
Beat Weekend screenings will take place in the city’s main cinemas and key cultural venues : Aurora, Lenfilm, Cinéma Michèle, Karo 9 Varshavsky Express, Out Cinema, Formula Kino Gallery, and the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre.
The sessions will be complemented by a program of special events featuring local cultural figures, journalists, and representatives of the city’s communities.