London Russian Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The London Russian Film Festival is an annual film festival, launched by Academia Rossica
in 2007. The festival is aimed to present cinema in Russian language
to an English
speaking audience. All films are shown in original language, with English subtitles. The film programme includes feature films
as well documentaries
and animated films. Apart from the film screenings, the festival encompasses Q&A sessions with actors, directors and producers presenting the films, discussion events about contemporary Russian films
and culture
, and film showings specially for children.
accessible to an English
speaking audience. In the British press this was interpreted as a sign of growing "cultural links between to two countries". The festival programme included recent Russian films, that had already received several awards in Russia and abroad, such as Euphoria
by Ivan Vyryapev, winner of the debut prize at the Venice Film Festival
in 2007, or Travelling with Pets
by Vera Storozheva, awarded with the top prize at the Moscow Film Festival. Many of the films were introduced by the directors and/or cast members.
film 12
, that had previously been shown with great success at the Venice Film Festival
and was nominated for the Academy Awards
. In 2008 the festival was aimed to gain a strengthened position as a platform for inter-cultural dialogue between Russian and UK audiences and filmmakers. Leading directors and actors were encouraged to introduce their films personally, and to participate in Q&A sessions.
adaptation of Anna Karenina
. The director and the main actress Tatiana Drubich were present at the opening night and discussed the film with the audience in a Q&A session after the screening. Generally speaking, films based on works of literature - The Event by Andrey Eshpay
, Way to Heaven by Nikolay Dostal, and Ward No 6 by Karen Shakhnazarov
- were among the most popular entries, probably also supported by the fact, that Ward No 6 had appeared on the longlist for the Academy Awards
in the same year. Other films were also well received at the London Russian Film Festival, in particular Pavel Bardin's mockumentary Russia 88
, and Paper Soldier by Alexei German Jr., a drama set on the background of the first manned Soviet aerospace project.
’s main prize. Also amongst the main programme’s feature films were the applauded Gastarbeiter by Yusup Razykov and Reverse Motion by Andrey Stempkovsky. The documentary programme looked back at last decade in Russia, offering a window into the real Russia, with screenings of the ten finest Russian documentary films, one for each year. Garri Bardin
’s The Ugly Duckling
, a children’s stop-motion animated film with Orwellian overtones deemed so politically subversive it was banned from showing on Russian television, was the opening night film. The festival also included a retrospective of the great actor and director Sergei Bondarchuk
's films and the works of Leo Tolstoy
on film, as well as a retrospective of masters of Soviet and Russian animation.
Documentaries
Animation
Documentaries
Short films
Animation
Documentaries
Animation
Academia Rossica
Academia Rossica is a cultural organisation set up in 2000 to promote and strengthen cultural and intellectual ties between Russia and the English-speaking world...
in 2007. The festival is aimed to present cinema in Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
to an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
speaking audience. All films are shown in original language, with English subtitles. The film programme includes feature films
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
as well documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
and animated films. Apart from the film screenings, the festival encompasses Q&A sessions with actors, directors and producers presenting the films, discussion events about contemporary Russian films
Cinema of Russia
The cinema of Russia began in the Russian Empire, widely developed under the Soviet and in the years following the fall of the Soviet system, the Russian film industry would remain internationally recognised...
and culture
Russian culture
Russian culture is associated with the country of Russia and, sometimes, specifically with ethnic Russians. It has a rich history and can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts, especially when it comes to literature and philosophy, classical music and ballet, architecture...
, and film showings specially for children.
1st London Russian Film Festival (2007)
The 1st London Russian Film Festival was opened on 27 September with the objective to make Russian cinemaCinema of Russia
The cinema of Russia began in the Russian Empire, widely developed under the Soviet and in the years following the fall of the Soviet system, the Russian film industry would remain internationally recognised...
accessible to an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
speaking audience. In the British press this was interpreted as a sign of growing "cultural links between to two countries". The festival programme included recent Russian films, that had already received several awards in Russia and abroad, such as Euphoria
Euphoria (film)
Euphoria is a 2006 Russian drama/romance film directed by Siberian dramatist and director Ivan Vyrypayev, most recently acclaimed as a co-screenwriter of Bumer 2. This drama, rightly classified as tragedy, exposes shocking truth about cultural and material poverty of Russian provincial village. In...
by Ivan Vyryapev, winner of the debut prize at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
in 2007, or Travelling with Pets
Travelling with Pets
- Awards :Golden George at the Moscow International Film Festival...
by Vera Storozheva, awarded with the top prize at the Moscow Film Festival. Many of the films were introduced by the directors and/or cast members.
2nd London Russian Film Festival (2008)
At the 2nd Russian Film Festival 10 theatrical premiers of award winning Russian films produced in 2007-2008 were presented, among them Nirvana by Ivan Voloshin and Nikita Mikhalkov'sNikita Mikhalkov
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union.Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the distinguished, artistic Mikhalkov family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a Galitzine princess...
film 12
12 (film)
12 is a 2007 crime film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film was presented at the Venice Film Festival, where Mikhalkov was awarded the Special Lion for Overall Work...
, that had previously been shown with great success at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
and was nominated for the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. In 2008 the festival was aimed to gain a strengthened position as a platform for inter-cultural dialogue between Russian and UK audiences and filmmakers. Leading directors and actors were encouraged to introduce their films personally, and to participate in Q&A sessions.
3rd London Russian Film Festival (2009)
The 3rd London Russian Film Festival opened on 30 October with the showing of Sergei Soliviev'sSergei Solovyov
Sergei Alexandrovich Solovyov is a Russian director, producer, writer and actor. He was awarded by the Russian SFSR People's Artist title.-Biography:...
adaptation of Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
. The director and the main actress Tatiana Drubich were present at the opening night and discussed the film with the audience in a Q&A session after the screening. Generally speaking, films based on works of literature - The Event by Andrey Eshpay
Andrei Andreyevich Eshpai
Andrei Andreyevich Eshpai is a film director, screenwriter and producer of Mari descent.He is the son of the composer Andrei Yakovlevich Eshpai, and the grandson of the composer Yakov Andreyevich Eshpai. He has got a wife — actress Yevgeniya Simonova...
, Way to Heaven by Nikolay Dostal, and Ward No 6 by Karen Shakhnazarov
Karen Shakhnazarov
Karen Georgievich Shakhnazarov is a Soviet and Russian-Armenian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He became the Director General of the Mosfilm studios in 1998.Shakhnazarov is the son of a prominent politician of Armenian descent, Georgy Shakhnazarov....
- were among the most popular entries, probably also supported by the fact, that Ward No 6 had appeared on the longlist for the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
in the same year. Other films were also well received at the London Russian Film Festival, in particular Pavel Bardin's mockumentary Russia 88
Russia 88
Russia 88 is a 2009 Russian mockumentary directed by Pavel Bardin about white power skinheads. In the film, members of a gang called Russia 88 are filming propaganda videos to post on the Internet. After a while, they become accustomed to the camera and stop paying attention to it. The leader of...
, and Paper Soldier by Alexei German Jr., a drama set on the background of the first manned Soviet aerospace project.
4th London Russian Film Festival (2010)
The main programme of the 4th London Russian Film Festival included the controversial One War by Vera Glagoleva, a moving relook at crime and punishment during the Second World War, and Svetlana Proscurina's latest thought provoking film The Truce, an unsettling portrayal of provincial Russia laced with humour and lyricism which won Russia’s KinotavrKinotavr
Kinotavr , also known as Sochi Open Russian Film Festival is an open film festival carried out in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991...
’s main prize. Also amongst the main programme’s feature films were the applauded Gastarbeiter by Yusup Razykov and Reverse Motion by Andrey Stempkovsky. The documentary programme looked back at last decade in Russia, offering a window into the real Russia, with screenings of the ten finest Russian documentary films, one for each year. Garri Bardin
Garri Bardin
Garri Bardin is a Russian animation director, screenwriter and producer and director. During Soviet times he was with Soyuzmultfilm, and in 1991 he founded his own studio, Stayer. In 2010, the studio finished making a feature-length animated film based on The Ugly Duckling, which Bardin directed...
’s The Ugly Duckling
The Ugly Duckling
"The Ugly Duckling" is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen . The story tells of a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from his neighbors until, much to his delight , he matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all...
, a children’s stop-motion animated film with Orwellian overtones deemed so politically subversive it was banned from showing on Russian television, was the opening night film. The festival also included a retrospective of the great actor and director Sergei Bondarchuk
Sergei Bondarchuk
Sergei Fedorovich Bondarchuk was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, and actor.- Biography :Born in Belozerka, in the Kherson Governorate, Sergei Bondarchuk spent his childhood in the cities of Yeysk and Taganrog, graduating from the Taganrog School Number 4 in 1938. His first performance as an...
's films and the works of Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
on film, as well as a retrospective of masters of Soviet and Russian animation.
2007
Feature films- EuphoriaEuphoria (film)Euphoria is a 2006 Russian drama/romance film directed by Siberian dramatist and director Ivan Vyrypayev, most recently acclaimed as a co-screenwriter of Bumer 2. This drama, rightly classified as tragedy, exposes shocking truth about cultural and material poverty of Russian provincial village. In...
- Ivan Vyryapev - Goddess - Renata LitvinovaRenata LitvinovaRenata Muratovna Litvinova is a Russian actress, director, and screenwriter. She was born to a Russian mother and a Tatar father...
- The Island - Pavel LunginPavel LunginPavel Semyonovich Lungin is a Russian film director. He is sometimes credited as Pavel Loungine .Born July 12, 1949 in Moscow, Lungin is the son of a scriptwriter and philologist. He later attended Moscow State University from which he graduated in 1971...
- On Upper Maslovka Street - Konstantin Khudyakov
- Piter FM - Oxana Bychkova
- Playing the Victim - Kirill Serebrennikov
- Travelling with PetsTravelling with Pets- Awards :Golden George at the Moscow International Film Festival...
- Vera Storozheva
2008
Feature films- Best of Times - Svetlana Proskurina
- Cruelty - Marina Liubakova
- Live to Remember - Alexander Proshkin
- Nirvana - Igor Voloshin
- Terra Nova - Alexander Mel’nik
- 1212 (film)12 is a 2007 crime film by Russian director and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film was presented at the Venice Film Festival, where Mikhalkov was awarded the Special Lion for Overall Work...
- Nikita MikhalkovNikita MikhalkovNikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, actor, and head of the Russian Cinematographers' Union.Mikhalkov was born in Moscow into the distinguished, artistic Mikhalkov family. His great grandfather was the imperial governor of Yaroslavl, whose mother was a Galitzine princess... - Simple Things - Alexei PopogrebskyAlexei PopogrebskiAlexei Popogrebski is a Russian film director and screenwriter. His 2010 film How I Ended This Summer was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.-Filmography:* Koktebel * Prostye veshchi...
- 20 Cigarettes - Alexander Gornovsky
- Wild Field - Mikhail Kalatozishvili
- Yuri's Day - Kirill Serebrennikov
Documentaries
- The Drunken Sailor - Sergei Bodrov
- A Melody for German - Ivan Bolotnikov
- Rock Monologue - Vladimir Kozlov
- Virginity - Vitaly ManskyVitaly ManskyVitaly Mansky is a Russian film and documentary maker of Ukrainian origin.-Selected filmography:* Gagarin's Pioneers 2006* Anatomiya TATU 2003* Etyudy O Lyubvi...
Animation
- Flash Smash: Russian Digital Animation - Vlad Strukov
2009
Feature films- Anna KareninaAnna KareninaAnna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
- Sergei SolivievSergei SolovyovSergei Alexandrovich Solovyov is a Russian director, producer, writer and actor. He was awarded by the Russian SFSR People's Artist title.-Biography:... - Assa 2 - Sergei SolovyovSergei SolovyovSergei Alexandrovich Solovyov is a Russian director, producer, writer and actor. He was awarded by the Russian SFSR People's Artist title.-Biography:...
- Melody for a Street Organ - Kira MuratovaKira MuratovaKira Muratova is a Soviet and Ukrainian film director, screenwriter and actress. She was born in 1934 in Soroca, Bessarabia, Romania . She was born to a Romanian mother and a Russian father. Muratova is known for her unusual and original directorial style...
- Papier Soldier - Alexei German Jr.
- Russia 88Russia 88Russia 88 is a 2009 Russian mockumentary directed by Pavel Bardin about white power skinheads. In the film, members of a gang called Russia 88 are filming propaganda videos to post on the Internet. After a while, they become accustomed to the camera and stop paying attention to it. The leader of...
- Pavel Bardin - Tale about Darkness - Nikolay KhomerikiNikolay KhomerikiNikolay Khomeriki is a Russian film director and screenwriter. He has directed six films since 2004. His film 977 was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival...
- Ward No 6 - Karen ShakhnazarovKaren ShakhnazarovKaren Georgievich Shakhnazarov is a Soviet and Russian-Armenian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He became the Director General of the Mosfilm studios in 1998.Shakhnazarov is the son of a prominent politician of Armenian descent, Georgy Shakhnazarov....
- Way to Heaven - Nikolay Dostal
Documentaries
- Body Parts - Maria Kravchenko
- City of the Sun - Alexander Murugov
- In Motion - Alexander Vorontsov/Julia Kiseleva
- Sunrise/Sunset - Vitaly ManskyVitaly ManskyVitaly Mansky is a Russian film and documentary maker of Ukrainian origin.-Selected filmography:* Gagarin's Pioneers 2006* Anatomiya TATU 2003* Etyudy O Lyubvi...
- The Back of Beyond - Evgeniy Solomin
- The Long Road Home - Aleksandr Gorelik
Short films
- Artsutanov's Lift: In Pursuit of a Genius with a Video Camera - Daria Emeljanova
- The Ghost of Europe - Igor Morozov
- A Gust of Wind - Ekaterina Telegina
- Mono Lisa - Yana Konofalskaya
- Once upon a Time - Alexey Savenko
- The Road to Lamz - Andrey Averkov
Animation
- Cat's Walk - Dmitri Nahumov/Irina Margolina/Mikhail Lisovoi
- First SquadFirst SquadFirst Squad is a joint animation project of Japan's Studio 4°C and Russian authors with Molot Entertainment. It won the Kommersant newspaper's prize.-Plot:Set during the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front...
- Yoshiharo Ashino - A Fish - Sergei Ryabov
- Kashtanka - Natalia Orlova/Vladimir Golovanov/Vera Piunova
- Pudya - Sofia Kravtsova/Andrei Stovlinsky/Yekaterina Tregub
- The Quiet Story - Alexei Demin
- Seashore. Nurse - Sergei Seregin/Vladimir Golovanov/Sofia Kravtsova
- Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson - Aleksandr Bubnov/Irina Kovtun/Zoya Trofimova
- The True Story of The Three Little Pigs - Konstantin Bronzit/Irina Margolina
- Wind along the Coast - Ivan Maksimov
2010
Feature films- The Ugly Duckling - Garry Bardin
- Truce - Svetlana Proskurina
- Reverse Motion - Andrey Stempkovsky
- One War - Vera Glagoleva
- How I Ended This SummerHow I Ended This SummerHow I Ended This Summer is a 2010 Russian drama film directed by Alexei Popogrebski. It was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:...
- Alexei PopogrebskiAlexei PopogrebskiAlexei Popogrebski is a Russian film director and screenwriter. His 2010 film How I Ended This Summer was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.-Filmography:* Koktebel * Prostye veshchi... - The Man At The Window - Dmitry Meskhiev
- Sparrow - Yuri Shiller
- Star Dogs Belka & Strelka - Inna Evlannikova
- Gasterbeiter - Yusup Razykov
- The Golden Mean - Sergei Debizhev
Documentaries
- The Train Stop - Sergei Loznitsa
- My Gosh! - Susanna Barandzhieva
- Just Life - Marina Razbezhkina
- Broadway, The Black Sea - Vitaly Mansky
- Wedding of Silence - Pavel Medvedev
- A Civic Condition - Alina Rudnitskaya
- Six Including the Children - Alexander Malinin
- Mother - Anton Katin and Pavel Kostomarev
- Until the Next Resurrection - Oleg Morozov
- The Revolution That Wasn’t - Alyona Polunina
- Sanya Sparrow - Andrei Gryazev
Animation
- Garry Bardin Retrospective
- Little Tragedies - Irina Evteeva
- Petersburg - Svetlana Svirko
- Irina Evteeva Retrospective
- The First Meeting - Oleg Uzhinov
- Tunnelage - Ivan Maximov
- A Trip to the Seaside - Nina Bisyarina
- Tracks of Unseen - Oleg Uzhinov
- Look Up - Svetlana Podyacheva
- Log Jam - Alexei Alexeev
- About a Catfish - Julia Ruditskaya
- Poor Sharik - Anastasia Sokolova