3rd Russian Film Festival
30 October — 8 November 2009
Apollo Cinema. London
Tel. 0871 220 6000
For more information about films follow the website of the festival
Follow this link to book tickets on Apollo Cinema website
Academia Rossica is proud to present 10 UK premieres of award-winning Russian films produced in 2008-2009.
The festival opens on 30 October with a new adaptation of Anna Karenina by one of Russia’s most defiant film directors, Sergei Soloviev. The film took 14 years to make and it is part of Soloviev’s trilogy ASSA (1987) – ASSA-2 (2009) – Anna Karenina (2009).
Harking back to a lost Russia, three more adaptations are featured in this year’s programme: Ward No 6 by Karen Shakhnazarov, based on Chekhov’s story The Event by Andrei Eshpay, based on Nabokov’s play Pete on the Way to Heaven by Nikolay Dostal, based on Mikhail Kuraev’s short story
This nostalgia is balanced by work representing Russia’s new wave of filmmakers: Tale in the Darkness by Nikolay Khomeriki – everyday life of Russian police Paper Soldier by Alexei German Jnr – about Yury Gagarin’s flight to the space Russia 88 by Pavel Bardin examining neo-fascism in today’s Russia First Squad – animation film about pioneers fighting against fascists during the World War II.
Kyra Muratova, the legendary Russian-Ukrainian film director, will present her new award-winning film Melody for a Street Organ on the day of her 75th birthday, 5 November. We are very proud to host and celebrate Muratova on that day in London, at the Russian Film Festival.
Award-winning documentary maker Vitaly Mansky will present his film Sunrise/Sunset, a unique and fascinating profile of the Dalai Lama. Alongside this, we present six films capturing the surreal side of the Russian provinces, giving us a window into contemporary life beyond Moscow.
Early Soviet musicals are still largely unknown in the West, and yet they are every bit as captivating as their Hollywood counterparts. To mark the 85th anniversary of Mosfilm, main Russia’s film studio, we are showing five classics from director Grigory Alexandrov starring Soviet diva Lubov Orlova, made in the 1930s. It is said that Stalin’s role in their creation was so important that he could almost be considered the co-author of these films.
As part of our main programme we are proud to present the UK premiere of First Squad, a full length animation about World War II made by a Russian writer and Japanese animator. We are also showing a delightful selection of animations for children.
The annual Moscow ARTkino Open Festival is a screening/competition of short films and documentaries (up to 30 minutes long) from all over Russia which have been highly rated by the members of the selection board. The festival aims to revive independent film in Russia, to encourage developments in the language of film, to draw attention to creative and experimental film by promoting creative short films made by film students and independent directors. The festival reflects the general picture of young creative cinematography in Russia, its emergence and significance in cinema today.
EVENTS
— 31 October, 2 pm – a roundtable discussion Russian Cinema: New Reality, New Priority, New Generation, led by Andrei Plakhov;
— 2 November, 4 pm – Which Russia is Real? – a roundtable discussion examining why images of Russia captured by Russian documentary filmmakers are so different from those made by their western counterparts. Why Russia’s image of itself is so different from its perception by the West? Which one is the real Russia?
SPECIAL GUESTS
We are delighted that Russian film directors and actors will be joining us for Q&As and to introduce their films. Among them are Sergei Soloviev, Kyra Muratova, Tatyana Drubich, Karen Shakhnazarov, Evgenia Simonova, Andrey Eshpay, Pavel Bardin, Andrei Plakhov, Vitaly Mansky and others.
PRESS CONTACTS
Polly Corrigan, Russian Film Festival Press Officer. Tel: 020 7287 2614, press@academia-rossica.org
Natalia Tomilova, Russian Film Festival Developent Director in Russia. Tel: +7 910 432 01 52, pr@academia-rossica.org
