Amid the glamour, red carpets, and flashbulbs of the Cannes Film Festival, actress, producer, and activist Lilly Rikhter has surprised audiences with a project that goes beyond cinema: a social project born in the south of Gran Canaria that fuses well-being, community, and a commitment to mental health. The Chechen-Canarian artist presented her Walk in the Park (WIP) initiative this weekend during a roundtable discussion at the Marché du Film, in which she addressed the power of art and conscious movement as tools for social transformation.
Rikhter also took advantage of her stay in France to present the first outlines of the Maspalomas International Film Festival, which she will chair starting in 2025 under the umbrella of the Eureka Culture and Film Association, of which she is secretary. The event aims to position the south of Gran Canaria as a creative hub between Africa, Europe, and Latin America, with a special focus on emerging cinema and productions with a social perspective.
Born in Grozny and based in Maspalomas for years, Rikhter, 36, is not your typical star. Her training in social psychology, combined with her stage and film experience, has shaped a unique approach to acting, community leadership, and personal growth. In her Cannes performance—multilingual, as is her custom—she spoke fluently in English, Spanish, and Russian, weaving together scientific, emotional, and artistic concepts without losing her connection with the audience.
Walk in the Park (WIP) is a community health initiative that has already engaged more than 2.000 participants since its inception. Held weekly in Maspalomas' Parque del Sur, Lilly leads free sessions that combine active meditation, breathing exercises, body movement, and conversations about emotional well-being. “It's not fitness, it's connection,” she explained. “Mental health isn't just about psychotherapy. It's about community, about daily rituals, about reclaiming the body as home.”
Beyond her activism, Lilly continues to forge a rising career in the world of cinema. Her recent Best Actress win at the Cannes Riviera Film Festival for her roles in the short films "On Time" and "The Journey of Life" has catapulted her name onto the international scene. During her time on the Croisette this year, she took the opportunity to forge alliances with European and Asian producers for the miniseries about motorcyclists she will develop in 2026.
With a career as multifaceted as it is robust, Lilly Rikhter is also a DJ—her debut, "Slice of Life," with DJ Jickow, is already making the rounds at electronic music festivals—a former Olympic athlete (torchbearer at Sochi 2014), an IFBB PRO champion, and the Queen of the MaspaloMoon Carnival. But it is in her more human facet, as a mentor, organizer, and catalyst for well-being, where she seems to have found the true center of her narrative.
“My story began in a war zone, and now it resonates in film sets,” Lilly reflected at the end of her talk. “But what matters most to me is not the individual journey, but what we build together when we walk at the same pace. That is Walk in the Park.” In Cannes, where the world's most ambitious stories flourish each year, Lilly Rikhter has managed to plant a deeply human seed, watered with purpose, health, and community. And its echo, like its energy, promises to continue.
