RUSSIA: Moscow International Film Festival opens, with seventeen films in competition

Record ID: 722493

  • Title: RUSSIA: Moscow International Film Festival opens, with seventeen films in competition
  • Date: 18th June 2010
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA ( (JUNE 17, 2010) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (French) CLAUDE LELOUCH, FILM-MAKER SAYING: "This is the first time the film will be shown and I wanted it to be shown in Moscow because the first time I thought of this film was fifty years ago, and in Moscow." GUESTS WALKING UPSTAIRS NIKITA MIKHALKOV GREETING, SHAKING HANDS WITH GUESTS FILMMAKER AND PRODUCER LUC BESSON WALKING WITH OTHER GUESTS TOWARDS VENUE PLACE GUESTS, MEDIA CROWDING AT ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) NIKITA MIKHALKOV, FILM-MAKER AND MOSCOW FILM FESTIVAL PRESIDENT SAYING: "The main feature of the Moscow festival is that it is no more such a frightened substance which always needs to have stars and the drunken feast. This is the festival where the people are working. We have magnificent, highly talented, strikingly different productions, and the people who come here to show their films and to meet colleagues. Above all, hopefully we shall see this create an effective film market which will at last start working in Russia as soon as we get enough cinema theaters and a good distribution." RUSSIAN FILM-MAKER FYODOR BONDARCHUK WITH HIS WIFE SVETLANA POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS MEMBER OF RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT, VLADIMIR ZHIRINOVSKY ARRIVING AT FESTIVAL STAIRS, GIVING AUTOGRAPHS TO SPECTATORS DOZENS OF PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES OF CELEBRITIES AT FESTIVAL STAIRS RUSSIAN FILMMAKER FYODOR BONDARCHUK WITH HIS WIFE SVETLANA WALKING UPSTAIRS WIDE OF FESTIVAL STAIRS AT ROSSIYA CINEMA THEATRE
  • Embargoed: 3rd July 2010 13:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVADSZBJERHNUQQ2RW208DOUKW4W
  • Story Text: Moscow International Film festival opened on Friday (June 18) with veteran film director Claude Louche's film 'What Love May Bring' kicking off a competition in which seventeen films are participating. French director Luc Besson leads the jury.
    Invited guests arrived at Moscow's Rossiya Cinema on Pushkin Square in the city centre, for the opening ceremony and screening. A crowd of mostly Russian celebrities and film professionals made their way up the red carpet, past waiting fans, to the cinema entrance where festival director Nikita Mikhailkov greeted guests.
    Lelouch's film 'What Love May Bring" opened the festival. Its main character Ilva reflects on her turbulent youth and all the men she has ever loved in her life as she daydreams about the five great loves of her life.
    "This is the first time the film will be shown and I wanted it to be shown in Moscow because the first time I thought of this film was fifty years ago and in Moscow," Lelouch told Reuters at the festival.
    The once global brand of Soviet cinema has struggled to adapt to market forces since the collapse of the USSR, and Moscow does not attract more than a handful of the international film circuit's top names. Festival director, Russian Oscar-winner Nikita Mikhailkov shrugs off criticism, insisting the festival is gaining a reputation as a place to do business rather than be seen.
    "The main feature of the Moscow festival is that it is no more such a frightened creature which always needs to have stars and a drunken after-party. This is a festival where people are working. We have magnificent, highly talented, strikingly-different productions and people who come here to show their films and to meet colleagues. Above all, hopefully we shall see this create an effective film market which will at last start working in Russia as soon as we get enough cinemas and good distribution," he said.
    Moscow Film Festival continues through June 26.
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