Its initiators are Turan University, public geographical organizations of Kazakhstan and Russia – the Russian Geographical Society and Qazaq Geography.

The festival is aimed at exchanging experiences and developing cooperation in the preservation of historical and cultural heritage and natural diversity, stimulating interest in cognitive and research activities, mutual involvement of specialists and enthusiasts from both countries in expeditionary activities.

"Expeditions to the most protected places on the planet, the unpredictability and discoveries that they bring, meetings with unique people who inspire and give ideas for new projects - that's what I love about my job. Each of the three films that we will show to Almaty residents is the result of unique expeditions of completely different directions. And their creators are, in a good sense, fanatics and professionals in their field. The team of creators of all projects are full members of the Russian Geographical Society. Therefore, yes, expeditions are a way of life for them! It is no coincidence that we are opening the festival with the film "The Lord of the Altai Mountains", about the drama of a family of snow leopards. This topic is also relevant in Kazakhstan, especially since the snow leopard is a symbol of Almaty. In Kazakhstan, we have already outlined interesting joint projects and I am sure that they will be very significant and resonant for both peoples," - said documentary filmmaker Alexey Nikulin.

The festival will open with a presentation of photographs from the international competition of the Russian Geographical Society "The Most Beautiful Country", which has been held for 10 years. The focus of the most famous photographers in the world is on the peoples of Russia, its wild animals and nature.

Three documentaries filmed during the Society's expeditions in the most remote and protected corners of the country will be presented by their authors - famous Russian documentary filmmakers, full members of the Russian Geographical Society, participants of numerous research expeditions.

On November 28, there will be a screening of the full-length documentary "The Lord of the Altai Mountains". It tells about the life drama of a family of snow leopards. The uniqueness of the project is that snow leopards are the main characters of the film and their presence in the frame takes almost 50% of the film's timing, which is an absolute record for films about wild animals.

"15 cameramen, 3 years of filming, unique equipment that we designed specifically to work on this project, and absolutely extreme working conditions. I don't know who else is capable of this! In many ways, thanks to this, the Snow Leopard in our film looks "tame" and takes up so much space in the frame. Another source of pride for us is dramaturgy. A real family drama unfolds in the frame, and the ending will not be happy for all the characters in this "Santa Barbara". However, as in life. This film is my declaration of love to my small homeland - Altai. And the Snow Leopard is a stage in my creative life. Filming wildlife is very difficult, but interesting. I already had a tiger, a leopard, now I have a snow leopard. Next in line is the manul. And in Kazakhstan, of course, there are topics that concern me as an author," - said the director of the film "The Lord of the Altai Mountains" Vadim Vitovtsev.

On November 29, the film "To the Arctic" will be presented. The authors spent 5 years working on it and it opens the Russian part of the Arctic to the viewer in all its fullness and breadth - from the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait.

The festival will end on November 30 with the documentary "Alsib. Chronicles of the Air Route". The film tells about the expedition of the Russian Geographical Society to search for American aircraft transported from Alaska along the Alsib route and missing during the Second World War in the mountains of Chukotka. In July 2022, the search party discovered the remains of a flight radio operator, a native of Kazakhstan.

One of the guests of the festival and a participant of the "round table" on November 29 will be German director and producer Henry Mix. He is a leading European specialist in the field of wildlife filming: "Planet Earth" BBC, "Russia from edge to edge", "On Thin Ice", etc. In 2025, he plans to launch the production of a series of documentaries about the nature and wildlife of Kazakhstan.