The theme of the festival is "the multipolar world" (the main opposite notions of the universe are north and south, plus and minus, a man and a woman ...). The festival aims to unite journalists and filmmakers of the Nordic countries, create the conditions for mutual penetration of cultural traditions of different countries of the world. It also aims to raise the awareness of the world community about the lives of people in the Far North.

The festival provides the opportunity for authors of TV programmes and movies to expand their audience while young journalists and filmmakers may improve their professional skills.

The festival features competition show, discussion of TV shows and films, master classes run by Russian and foreign producers of documentaries, Media Forum "The multipolar world", presentations of television and film projects, non-competition screening of films and television programmes, cultural agenda.

The festival nomination categories include "Documentary", "Television programme", "Essay", "Short Report", "Programme (film) about culture", "Youth (Children) programme (film)", "Short feature film." More than 100 works are applied for participation, the jury will see more than 40 hours of video footage. The representatives from eight countries – Russia (30 cities), Abkhazia, Norway, Sweden, France, Finland, Canada, Greece – have become the participants of "The Northern character – 2014".