Screening "Hard to Be Human: The Future as a Personal Choice" to be held as part of the III International Symposium "Inventing the Future"

Science fiction fans will be able to watch an episode of the series "Hard to Be a God" alongside film industry experts and a practising psychologist on 12 November at the National Centre RUSSIA. The meeting will explore human responsibility for the future in an age of advanced technology. The screening and subsequent discussion will form part of the "Culture and Art" track of the III International Symposium "Inventing the Future". The event is co-organised by National Media Group. Attendance is open to visitors who register in advance on the website.

Based on the Strugatsky brothers' famous novella, "Hard to Be a God" is full of adventure: in the distant future, technological progress on Earth has reached such heights that humans now help other civilisations develop — albeit secretly rather than openly. One of these secret agents is Anton, who infiltrates medieval Arkanar under the guise of a frivolous aristocrat, Don Rumata. Anton faces a difficult choice: remain a god — an impartial observer — or act as a human being who shapes history himself and cannot accept the deaths of his friends. The series presents several possible futures and explores personal choice and responsibility for its consequences. The discussion will feature screenwriter, showrunner and Creative Producer at NMG Studio, Andrei Zolotarev, and psychologist and writer Yevgeny Sidorenko. The conversation will be moderated by the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at National Media Group, Maria Zalunina.

Together with the audience, the experts will explore how to retain our humanity amid rapid technological development, why the future is shaped by people who care and take action, and where the boundary lies between an individual act and a historical event. Participants will also discuss contemporary science fiction cinema as a platform for big ideas and philosophical questions.

The Symposium will also host the International Film Project Pitching "Cinema as a Tool to Combat Future Shock". Young filmmakers from around the world will present projects that transform anxiety about the future into positive scenarios for humanity's development.