Minister of Culture of Russia Olga Lyubimova invited the CIS countries to participate in the Open Eurasian Film Award, the first ceremony of which will take place in October 2025.

Speaking at the XXXIX meeting of the Council for Cultural Cooperation of the CIS Member States, which took place in the Peterhof Museum-Reserve, Lyubimova noted that the initiative to create the Open Eurasian Film Award has already been supported by the People's Republic of China. "We will be glad to see the CIS member states involved in the new mechanism, which opens up opportunities for cooperation and the creation of joint projects," the minister said.

A video message from Nikita Mikhalkov, Chairman of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation, dedicated to the Eurasian Film Academy and its award was shown at the meeting, TASS reports. "[The Academy] will profess those values that are unshakable for us, different people, different countries, associated with their history, their culture and their tradition. We invite you to take part in this," Mikhalkov said.

In the presentation video that was shown to the meeting participants, it was noted that the prize would, in particular, be monetary. The best film will receive $1 million, and the winners in other nominations will receive $250 thousand each. Each will be awarded a Diamond Butterfly statuette.

In 2022, director Nikita Mikhalkov came up with the initiative to create the Eurasian Film Academy and establish such an award, which should become an analogue of the Oscar.

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