RUSSIALINK: “Pavel Durov Revealed – Almost – in New Documentary” – Moscow Times

File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

Durov … found[ed] … social networking platform VKontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, and later Telegram, the encrypted messaging app […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Film About Gorbachev and Reagan in Pre-Production; From the team that made ‘The Death of Stalin'” – Moscow Times

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The historic 1986 Reykjavik summit between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan will be the backdrop for a new satirical film […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Beat Film Fest Kicks Off Aug. 1; Muscovites’ favorite festival of documentary films is online and offline this year” – Moscow Times

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daniil Galaydov – July 28, 2020) Beat Film Festival, founded in 2010, is likely to become the headliner of this summer’s cultural events in Moscow. It launches on Aug. 1, when the city’s movie theaters are allowed to open after their long downtime during the coronavirus quarantine. This year the films will be shown online […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Situation with actor Ustinov case developing within framework of law – Peskov” – Interfax

Dmitry Peskov file photo adapted from image at kremlin.ru/wikimedia commons

MOSCOW. Sept 19 (Interfax) – The situation with actor Pavel Ustinov, who was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for attacking a Russian Guardsman, is developing within the framework of law, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. Responding to a question from journalists as to whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has become familiar with filmmaker Andrei Zvyagintsev’s address to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Herzog Says Gorbachev Documentary Has a ‘Subversive Message'” – AP

File Photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan at Table Signing Documents

“Werner Herzog says there’s a ‘subversive message’ to his new documentary ‘Meeting Gorbachev’: Talk to your geopolitical enemies. Herzog interviewed former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev three times in a six-month span to make the new film. He highlights … the reunification of Herzog’s native Germany as well as the groundbreaking 1986 arms control summit with U.S. President Ronald Reagan. […]

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Russian Director Serebrennikov Freed From House Arrest

Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – April 8, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russian-director-serebrennikov-freed-from-house-arrest/29867678.html) A Moscow court has ordered the release of theater director Kirill Serebrennikov and two associates from house arrest. The three are on trial in an embezzlement case they claim is politically motivated. In an April 8 ruling, the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The revival of Russia’s cinema industry” – bne Intellinews/ Ben Aris

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“Russia’s cinema business is growing three times faster than the real economy, but it’s a bumpy ride. In 2018 Russian movie-goers set a new record with 56mn visits to a cinema to generate a box office take of RUB13.5bn ($200mn). With one Russian in three having a night out in front of the silver screen, the growth of the business […]

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More In The Tank: Russian Film Extends Trend Of Patriotic World War II Epics

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(Article ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Matthew Luxmoore – Jan. 8, 2019 – article also appeared at rferl.org/a/more-in-the-tank-russian-film-extends-trend-of-patriotic-world-war-ii-epics/29697503.html) Yet another patriotic war movie has taken Russia by storm. T-34, a high-octane tribute to the Soviet tank that played a key role on the Eastern Front of World War II, is the latest in a series […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Amazon Getting Ready to Launch ‘The Romanoffs’; The series breaks usual practices, formats, and genres” – Moscow Times

Romanov Family Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – HOLLYWOOD – July 30, 2018) Amazon Studios’ much-anticipated original anthology series “The Romanoffs” will hit the world stage on Oct. 12, initially available in 200 countries simultaneously. Departing from the traditional television format, “The Romanoffs” will be presented in the Amazon Prime platform both in English and foreign languages, announced Matthew Weiner, its creator, writer, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “An outrageous penalty; As the World Cup begins, Russia should free Oleg Sentsov; A film-maker locked up for protesting against the annexation of Crimea is on hunger strike” – The Economist Editorial

Oleg Sentsov file photo, adapated from image at csce.gov

“… Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian film director serving a 20-year sentence … in Siberia. … was jailed for protesting against … Putin’s illegal annexation of Crimea and the war Russia’s president unleashed in eastern Ukraine …. Sentsov started a hunger strike demanding the release of all 64 Ukrainian political prisoners from Russian jails. The … World Cup … June 14th […]

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Russia’s Strange Obsession with Sobibór

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(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Izabella Tabarovsky, Senior Associate, Manager for Regional Engagement at The Kennan Institute – May 9, 2018) [Text with links kennan-russiafile.org/2018/05/09/russias-strange-obsession-with-sobibor/] A new Russian movie, Sobibór, is making its way into Russian theaters and European capitals. The big-budget, highly promoted film tells the story of a prisoner escape from the Nazi death camp Sobibór in October […]

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NEWSLINK: “STALIN, PADDINGTON, AND THE PRESS” – irrussianality/Paul Robinson

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“What do Josef Stalin and Paddington Bear have in common? Answer: The Russian Ministry of Culture has tried to ‘ban’ films about them – or at least that what recent headlines would have you believe. The truth is a bit more complex. …”

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RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “[Putin at] Meeting with Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky” – KremlinRu

Mayakovsky Theater at Night, file photo; adapted from image from Creative Commons/wikimedia/Shuvaev

(Kremlin.ru – November 13, 2017) Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky to discuss the ministry’s performance over the past nine months. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Medinsky, three quarters have passed, and the year is drawing to a close. Any good news? Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky: With your permission, I would like […]

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Oscar Contender Andrei Zvyagintsev Feted in Hollywood

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ali Sar – HOLLYWOOD, November 13, 2017) Not many foreign film directors are easily recognized at public events here. But an exception is Russian moviemaker Andrei Zvyagintsev. At the American Film Institute’s annual festival fans approach him for his autograph, ask to take pictures with him and compliment him on his work. A newspaper reviewer […]

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Russian Director Vows To Quit Cinema After ‘Hysteria’ Over TV Spy Thriller

Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

(Article ©2017 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, October 17, 2017 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-director-vows-to-quit-cinema-after-tv-spy-thriller/28800376.html) Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents battle fifth columnists and CIA “sleeper” cells bent on sowing chaos and torpedoing a gas deal with China. Americans seeking a “colored revolution” try to frame Russia for the assassination of an […]

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NEWSWATCH: “The most controversial, anticipated film in years is coming soon to Russia. What’s it actually about? [Re: ‘Matilda’]” – Meduza/ Anton Dolin/ translation Kevin Rothrock

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“When it comes to cultural scandals in contemporary Russia, it’s hard to find anything so controversial as “Matilda,” a new film by Alexey Uchitel about the love affair between Nicholas Romanov, when he was still heir to the tsarist empire, and Matilda Kshesinskaya, a celebrated ballerina …. A campaign against the movie has raged for almost a year … * * […]

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Russians Mull Movie Ban On British Farce ‘Death Of Stalin’

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(Article ©2017 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW – Sept. 20, 2017 – also appeared at https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-death-stalin-movie-ban-outrage/28747021.html) The Russian Culture Ministry has warned it may ban a British satirical film about Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s death amid an outcry from Communist Party lawmakers who call it the latest example of Western “psychological warfare.” Adapted […]

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Putin hasn’t Destroyed Russia but Rather Russia has Destroyed Him, Konchalovsky Says

Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 3, 2017) Many people accuse Vladimir Putin of destroying Russia, film director Andrey Konchalovsky says; but instead “Russia has destroyed Putin” because like any Russian ruler, he finds it hard “rule a state whose population has no idea about democracy … and by according to inviolable tradition voluntarily delegates all power […]

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RUSSIALINK Amazon: “The Putin Interviews Paperback – June 16, 2017 by Oliver Stone (Author), Robert Scheer (Foreword)”

File Photo of Screenshot of Vladimir Putin in Twitter Video of Trailer of Oliver Stone TV Film Regarding Russia

“WITH SUBSTANTIAL MATERIAL NOT INCLUDED IN THE DOCUMENTARY Academy Award winner Oliver Stone was able to secure what journalists, news organizations, and even other world leaders have long coveted: extended, unprecedented access to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Putin Interviews are culled from more than a dozen interviews with Putin over a two-year span–never before has the Russian leader spoken […]

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NEWSLINK: “Director Oliver Stone on his new film subject: Russian President Vladimir Putin” – Brisbane Times

File Photo of Screenshot of Vladimir Putin in Twitter Video of Trailer of Oliver Stone TV Film Regarding Russia

“American director Oliver Stone’s latest film promises to be a revealing close-up of Russian president Vladimir Putin, including his views on relations with the US and allegations of meddling in the presidential election last year. …”

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Moscow theater performance of ‘Anna Karenina’ to play at a cinema near you

Leo Tolstoy file photo

Other major Moscow theater performances will follow suit later in the spring. Organizers see art and culture as a way to transcend politics. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – ALEXANDRA GUZEVA, RBTH – January 25, 2017) The Vakhtangov Theatre’s interpretation of Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel, Anna Karenina, is screened in cinemas across the U.S., UK, and Ireland. It’s a […]

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Sarah Lindemann-Komarova: “A Holiday recommendation for your readers; The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming: Holiday Film Recommendation and 50th Anniversary Tribute … Deja vous all over again”

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Subject: A Holiday recommendation for your readers. Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2016 From: Sarah Lindemann-Komarova <echosiberia@gmail.com> The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming: Holiday Film Recommendation and 50th Anniversary Tribute … Deja vous all over again By Sarah Lindemann-Komarova [Founder, Siberian Civic Initiatives Support Center 1995 – 2014. Helped to establish this as the hub for the first civil […]

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Streaming Wars: The Real Fight Behind Russia’s False YouTube ‘Ban’

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 30, 2016) Internet video giant YouTube will not be forced out of Russia under a new bill regulating online streaming services, the Russian government has confirmed. “We can officially say that all talk of YouTube facing legal restrictions is simply not true,” Deputy Communications Minister Alexei Volin told the Rambler News Service on Wednesday. […]

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Ukraine blacklists over 500 films and TV series

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KYIV. Nov 30 (Interfax) – The National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine has published a list of films and television series which have been banned by the Ukrainian State Film Agency from screening in 2014-2016. The list, which includes 544 audiovisual works, was published on the Council’s website on Wednesday. “In 2014-2016 the State Film Agency denied […]

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Life Through a Different Lens: Moscow’s Jewish Film Festival

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ruth Moore – June 13, 2016) Tomorrow is opening night of the Moscow Jewish Film Festival, a cultural event offering Muscovites the chance to become acquainted with the world of Jewish professional cinematography. Over the course of the week, more than 35 films with a focus on Jewish culture will show at leading cultural venues […]

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Five great new Russian films to watch online with the Dubl Dv@ festival

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New Russian movies will be available for streaming online with English subtitles as part of the Dubl dv@ (Take Two) film festival from April 11-22. We have selected the five most interesting movies from the program. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – ALEXANDER NECHAYEV, SPECIAL TO RBTH – April 11, 2016) Festival website: d2.rg.ru 1. ‘CH/B’ (‘Black/White’) After Nurik, […]

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Office Affairs and Chit-Chat Around the Russian Water Cooler

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michele A. Berdy – April 8, 2016) Облагора́живать: to ennoble Imagine that you are a foreigner who has been studying English. You’ve mastered most of the grammar – except those pesky articles and absurd tenses – and your listening comprehension is pretty good. So you go to the U.S. and meet someone in a coffee […]

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Ukraine bans all Russian films released after Jan 1, 2014

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(Interfax – March 29, 2016) Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada has banned broadcasting of the “films of the aggressor state” produced and/or publicized (demonstrated) for the first time after January 1, 2014. The bill, entitled “On making changes to the Ukrainian law ‘On cinematography’,” was favored by 237 parliamentarians on March 29. Having passed the law, the parliamentarians extended the ban to […]

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Russia’s year of cinema, or a return to silent films

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In Russia, 2016 has been designated the Year of Cinema. But any new films are likely to be ‘silent’, lacking any voice of their own. (opendemocracy.net – Eleonora Zbanke – February 3, 2016) Eleonora Zbanke is a filmmaker, videographer, producer, human rights activist and a speaker at the 2015 World Forum for Democracy on “Freedom vs Control”. Russia’s cinema industry […]

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Russian Animated Film Gets Oscar Nod

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 15, 2016) [Trailer here http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/news/article/russian-animated-film-gets-oscar-nod/555777.html] The Russian animated film “We Can’t Live Without Cosmos” has been shortlisted for an Academy Award. The film by Russian director Konstantin Bronzit was named a nominee on Thursday in the Best Animated Short Film category. The film tells the story of two friends and their paths to achieving […]

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Moscow homeless treated to free film shows

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

“Cinema for the homeless” was born in the summer: the homeless were shown French film 1+1 and classical Soviet comedy Operation Ы. The screenings are organized by volunteers from the Friends on the Street Movement, which since 2002 has been helping people without a home of their own. The movement feeds them, helps them socialize and carries out various events. […]

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Will ‘Sunstroke’ Make the Oscar List?

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ali Sar – October 26, 2015) HOLLYWOOD – Nikita Mikhalkov’s film “Sunstroke” will be the director’s sixth submission to the Oscar competition and will give the renowned Russian moviemaker a chance to capture his second Academy Award. Unlike last year’s awards entry “Leviathan,” the story about a corrupt mayor of a small seaside fishing village, […]

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Moscow’s Amfest Film Festival Goes Off the Beaten Track

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Andrei Muchnik – September 21, 2015) Amfest, the American film festival organized by the Cool Connections agency with the support of the U.S. Embassy, is once again taking over the halls of the Formula Kino Gorizont theater. This is the festival’s 10th year in Russia. The festival prides itself on showing movies that have never […]

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Russian Films Burst Onto Chinese Stage

Map of China and Environs, adapted from archived cia.gov image

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anastasia Bazenkova – March 24, 2015) Russian movies, which have struggled to gain a footing abroad since the fall of the Soviet Union, are now breaking into the world’s second-largest box office just across the border in China. In 2013, the big-budget war film “Stalingrad” became the first Russian movie to get a wide release […]

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Online film festival offers chance to view little-known Russian movies

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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – March 30, 2015) The sixth annual Double Dv@ Online Festival of Russian Film will take place on the website of Rossiyskaya Gazeta from April 6-20. Most films will be shown with English subtitles. Each film will be available for 48 hours. http://d2.rg.ru/ According to the press release: “The aim of the program is […]

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Russia Beyond the Headlines: Five reasons to watch Leviathan

Movie Theater file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Anton Dolin, special to RBTH – January 16, 2015) Andrei Zvyagnitsev’s film has already taken home a Golden Globe and Palme d’Or at Cannes for best foreign film and it is now up for an Oscar. Still wonder if you should see it? Let RBTH erase any remaining doubts. 1. This is not […]

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Russian Film ‘Leviathan’ Takes Golden Globe, Chance for Oscar

Movie Theater file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ali Sar, Kevin O’Flynn – BEVERLEY HILLS, United States, January 13, 2015) Andrei Zvyagintsev’s “Leviathan,” a dark and brooding film that depicts Russia as a corrupt and cruel society, took the Golden Globe for best foreign-language film late Sunday, making it one of the favorites to win the Academy Award in the same category next […]

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Russia’s Oscar Hopeful Is Dark, Critical — And Patriotic

Map of Russia

(RFE/RL – Robert Coalson – January 5, 2015) In the film Leviathan, a drunken mechanic in a far northern Russian town clashes with a greedy, drunken mayor who is determined to expropriate the man’s land for his own mansion. The mayor contemptuously refers to his subjects as “insects” and, in a fit of vodka-fuelled honesty, pulls back the curtain on […]

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Oliver Stone Interviews Yanukovych for Documentary on U.S. ‘Coup’ in Ukraine

Oliver Stone

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – December 31, 2014) Hollywood film producer Oliver Stone has said he wants to make a four-hour documentary telling the “dirty story” of the overthrow of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in what he believes was a “coup” organized with the help of the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency. “A dirty story through and through, but […]

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Arts world up in arms as Russia bans swearwords in films, books and TV

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(Russia Beyond the Headliines – rbth.ru – Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH – July 2, 2014) A law making it illegal to use swearwords in television, movies, literature, media reporting, concerts, and theatrical productions entered into force on July 1. Violators will face stiff fines. Prominent figures have expressed their dismay over the ban, arguing that it will limit cultural expression. Russia’s […]

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Pussy Riot Lands in U.S. for Film Premiere

File Photo of Pussy Riot Members in Courtroom Enclosure, With Man Showing Papers to One While Female Guard Looks On

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ali Sar – HOLLYWOOD, April 22, 2014) An image of young women clad in colorful outfits peeping through ski masks while being detained and clobbered by the police has been a part of evening newscasts in the U.S. for some time, most recently during the Sochi Olympics. Casual viewers have little understanding of the motivation […]

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Homegrown Films Beat Hollywood Imports in the Battle for Viewers

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – April 17, 2014) After a string of domestic blockbusters and the strongest first quarter in recent years, it seems fair to say that the Russian film industry is on the rise – but the story is far from over, a local producer says. “Russian cinema is experiencing a very important moment right […]

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‘Geograf’ Picks Up Top Russian Film Award

Movie Theater file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 2, 2014) Alexander Veledinsky’s “Geograf Globus Propil” was the big winner at this year’s Nika awards for Russian film, picking up a bundle of the top awards. The Nika, an annual Russian film award named after the Roman goddess for victory Nike, awarded prizes to the best movies of 2013 in a ceremony at […]

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‘Stalingrad’ Blockbuster Revives Russia’s Trauma, Glory

Battle of Stalingrad file photo

(Voice of America – James Brooke – November 19, 2013) A foreign correspondent who has reported from five continents, Brooke, known universally as Jim, is the Voice of America bureau chief for Russia and former Soviet Union countries. From his base in Moscow, Jim roams Russia and Russia’s southern neighbors. Seventy years have passed since the Battle of Stalingrad, the […]

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RIA Novosti: Yeltsin’s Grandson Developing Hollywood WWII Film

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WASHINGTON, November 5 (RIA Novosti) ­ Boris Yeltsin, the grandson and namesake of Russia’s first president, is producing a movie titled “Night Witches” about female Soviet pilots during World War II and has recruited an award-winning Hollywood screenwriter to pen the screenplay, the US entertainment website Variety.com reported. The project is based on the true story of Soviet female air […]

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Q&A: Bachurin and ‘Stalingrad’ Galvanize Russian Film

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – October 11, 2013) It takes Ilya Bachurin mere seconds to choose his favorite movie. But when asked to choose his favorite Russian movie, to say that it takes him a long time would be an understatement. The general director of Russia’s youngest and most technologically savvy film studio, Glavkino, approaches the matter […]

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Russian Film Voted ‘Audience Favorite’ at U.S. Festival

Movie Theater file photo

(RIA Novosti – Maria Young – WASHINGTON, September 23, 2013) If you want to catch a rare glimpse of “the mysterious Russian soul,” you need only to watch a collection of short Russian films being shown at a prominent film festival in Washington this month, said a Russian filmmaker whose work was voted an audience favorite over the weekend. The […]

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