The name is derived from Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky's film, Stalker, which celebrates and emphasises the eternal and universal values of mercy and love for one's neighbour, and individuals' personal responsibility to society.

[1] In the film, a "stalker" is a professional guide to "the Zone", someone having the ability and desire to cross the border into the dangerous and forbidden place with a specific goal.

[4] The MacArthur Foundation, a U.S.-based philanthropic organisation, awarded a total of around $850,000 in six separate grants to the Guild between 2005 and 2014 to support the festival.

It presents the best feature films and documentaries on the theme of human rights, not just for a small group of professionals, but for a huge audience.

[1] The film festival opens on 10 December each year, the day when adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is commemorated worldwide.

The Stalker Film Festival is now a significant event in the social and cultural life of Russia, and continues to reflect the range of human rights issues in the world by cinematic means.

[11] It is run by the Russian Guild of Film Directors in collaboration with its major partner, the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation, which described the festival as "The only such festival in Russia... which is aimed at establishing a consciousness of legal rights among wide audiences by the use of film – and to encourage filmmakers to make movies about human rights".