The Russian Resurrection Film Festival (RRFF) was founded in 2003 as a small festival servicing mainly the Russian-speaking community in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Since then it has grown rapidly, now also covering Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and as of 2014, New Zealand.

This year's festival, under the direction of Nicholas Maksymow, has 21 films screening in Canberra at Capitol Manuka.

There's a heavy emphasis on war films in this year's festival – not surprising with the last year's centenary of the start of World War I and this year's 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The festival opens on Wednesday, November 4 at 6.30pm with the World War II drama Battle for Sevastopol. It's based on a true story and tells of Lyudmila, a young Soviet woman who joined the Red Army in 1941 to fight the Nazis, became a deadly sniper, and eventually worked in the diplomatic delegation to the United States.

Road to Berlin (November 8, 9.10pm) is another World War II drama in which Private Dzurabaev must escort the condemned Lieutenant Ogarkov to army headquarters but the two men find themselves surrounded by the enemy.

Set during the 1914-18 war is Battalion, screens on November 7 at 9pm. It's based on the true story of the First Russian Women's Battalion, formed during World War I to shame timid male soldiers who were shirking their combat duties and led by the peasant Maria Bochkareva. It was directed by Dmitriy Meskhiev, whose award-winning 2004 World War II film, Our Own, is also screening on November 7, at 12.45pm.

Also set during World War I but on a lighter note is Yolki 1914, screening on November 6 at 6.30pm. It's the fourth in a series of Russian New Year's Eve comedy movies and the first to be set in the past. The Russian authorities have suggested that Christmas trees should be banned for belonging to the enemy's Protestant tradition but several people living in different Russian cities and belonging to different social classes join forces to defend the beloved symbol.

More dramatic is The Guards (November 9, 6.30pm), a story set in a small town where the local steelworks are guarded by a number of young women. One of them, Claudia, attempts to stop a robbery and when it becomes obvious, several months later, that she is pregnant, her friends and stepfather suspect the thief is the father.

Another comedy is Ghost (November 8, 1.45pm) in which the spirit of an aircraft designer killed on the eve of launching his breakthrough aeroplane and a young bullied student form an unexpected team.

Students also feature in two more serious films. In Remedial Class (November 7, 5.15pm), a class of Russian students with disabilities is shaken up by the arrival of a newcomer. And in the thriller Teacha (November 9, 8.45pm), a high school teacher uses a confiscated gun to focus her captive class' attention on a history test until the tables are turned.

More family-oriented is Snow Queen 2 (November 7, 3.30pm), the 3D sequel to the animated Snow Queen (2012). Here, the troll Orm embellishes his role in the victory over the Snow Queen with a web of lies and lands himself in trouble.

And there's much more to discover including the closing-night films on November 11. At 6.30pm is the comedy-drama Divorce on a Whim, in which Sergei leaves Elena, his wife of 20 years, and is dragged into a series of misadventures by his best friend. And at 8.15pm Sunstroke tells the story of a soldier's memory of a long-ago night of passion with a beautiful woman.