Andrey Tarkovsky International Film Festival revealed the international competition. The program comprises art feature films, previously shown in Rotterdam, Locarno, Tallinn, the USA. Cat in the Wall by Bulgarian filmmakers Vesela Kazakova and Mina Mileva which deals with immigration, has been screened in Locarno, Warsaw, Tallinn, Sarajevo. Nasir, a story of an Indian Muslim, won the prestigious NETPAC Award. The Spanish-Mexican drama Identifying Features by Fernanda Valades—a story of a mother whose son disappeared en route to the US border—competed at Sundance, the largest festival of independent films. Four films in Zerkalo's program were warmly received at the major experimental film festival in Rotterdam. They are Piedra Sola, Babai, Kala Azar, and Cook F**k Kill. Babai, notably is a US coproduction directed by Russian filmmaker Artem Aisagaliev.

Andrey Plahov, programming director of Zerkalo:

European, Asian and American films are replete with social, ecological and feminist motives but also appeal with their artistic search for unusual and poignant creative decisions.

In addition to the competition, the festival will feature non-competitive sections. Those will include the traditional programs of Jury Films and Special Screenings, as well as a section by the Fyodor Khitruk Original Animation Academy. The festival will also celebrate four centennials: Tonino Guerra, Federico Fellini, Nikolay Grinko, and Sergei Bondarchuk. The section 4x100 includes these great filmmakers' work, while Fyodor Bondarchuk will unveil footage from his documentary about his father.