Russian Film Week (RFW) returns this year for the second time and is twice as big, marking it as the biggest cross-cultural Russian event to have taken place outside of Russia.

RFW aims to move beyond global politics and focus on bridging the widening gap between Russia and the West through culture. And while a handful of Russian filmmakers such as Eisenstein, Tarkovsky, or Andrey Zvyagintsev (‘Leviathan’, ‘Loveless’) have become well known in the West, the RFW mission is to bring the full scope of Russian cinema to an international market, and celebrate its artistic merit with global audiences.

Besides the highly anticipated sell-out films ‘Mathilde’ (Alexey Uchitel) and ‘Arrythmia’ (Boris Khlebnikov), RFW will deliver the best of Russian film in the last 18 months, demonstrating the depth, richness, variety, and impressive technological innovation that Russian cinema has to offer to the world. The line-up will include shorts, animation, documentary films and a diversity of genres.

“We believe that by creating an international platform for showcasing a panorama of Russian themed film, we can foster cultural dialogue and mutual understanding between the United Kingdom and Russia - says Filip Perkon, RFW General Producer. - For the second year running, we have selected the best contemporary films with a Russian theme, whether from Russia or other countries — based on Russian literature, people or events — and brought these in a diverse programme to cities across Great Britain.”

The programme will go beyond multiple film screenings with Q&A sessions, to include: exhibitions, talks, parties, masterclasses, industry events, designed to pave the way for positive future collaborations between British and Russian film professionals. RFW will also be putting on fascinating documentary screenings as part its FemFest, Revolution Centenary, and Ecology Days. Waterstones Piccadilly will host throughout the week free VR demonstrations provided by Russian VR Seasons and PlanetPics (Natural Treasures of Russia program).

RFW opens with a screening of ‘Attraction’ followed by an after-party against a backdrop of suspended planes and vintage cars at the Science Museum, climaxing with the BFI closing screening of ‘Mathilde’ & after-party on the 26th November, and Golden Unicorn Awards Charity Gala Dinner on the 25th. This is when the winners in 12 awards categories, including Best Foreign film About Russia, will be announced - as decided by a renowned international jury.

In attendance of the festival, will be over 75 of Russia’s most talented directors, producers and actors including: Fedor Bondarchuk, Alexander Yatsenko, Valery Todorovsky, Alyona Babenko, Anna Mikhalkova and Aleksey Uchitel. Guests of honour such as: Ralph Fiennes, Olga Kurylenko, Mike Newell, Baroness Gail Rebuck, and Samy Naceri will also be joining us to celebrate the best of Russian cinema.

“Events such as the Russian Film Week, contribute to strengthening mutual understanding and friendship between peoples, to overcoming social barriers and prejudices, - says the RFW Co-producer Vadim Lobov, Synergy University Executive Director. - Our University does a lot to support Russian culture abroad. We are happy to give the people of Britain the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the best works of Russian cinematographers within the framework of the Week.”

RFW shows incredible promise for the future having trebled in size within just a year, with this year’s partners including the BFI, Science Museum, PictureHouses, Curzon Cinemas, Ciné Lumière, Regent Street Cinema and more across the cities of London, Cambridge, and Edinburgh.

As 2017 is the Year of Ecology in Russia, RFW have teamed up with WWF UK to raise funds for the WWF Amur Tiger Conservation Project in Russia over the duration of the festival. RFW and Synergy University have also launched a special Student Ecology Short Film competition with a special Golden Unicorn–Synergy Award.

For more information about the Russian Film Week and Golden Unicorn Awards please attend the RFW press conference on 19th November at 4pm just before the Opening Ceremony (with a special press screening of the film ‘Attraction’ afterwards).

There will be amazing, out of this world, blue sparkling wine for all, kindly provided by Eden!
“The world’s first French blue sparkling wine was inspired by the creative industry and we are thrilled to share this experience with leading actors, directors and producers from Russia, Great Britain and other countries who are showcasing incredible talent during Russian Film Week, - said Aymeric V Bruneau, creator of Eden. – There is undoubtedly a strong connection between the goals of Eden and Russian Film Week: shake pre- conceptions and stereotypes and bring novelty and effervescence to the world of film.”

READ MORE

EXHIBITIONS!!! Russian Film Week comes back to London for the second time, bringing a large number of latest releases from this year as well as a series of exhibitions that will run along with the festival.

November 21st - November 23rd Film Poster Exhibition Russia Culture House, 37 Kensington High St, Kensington, London W8 5ED In order to make the experience of exploring Russian cinema even more enjoyable, the curators of the festival are putting together a display of various Russian and British film posters provided by Filip Perkon, the founder of RFW, from his extensive collection. The exhibition is called To See Each Other and is meant to provide some multicultural context for those who decided to plunge into the world of Russian cinematography.

November 24th - December 7th Boris Grebenshchikov paintings: The Way of the Moon The Exhibitionist Hotel, 8-10 Queensberry Place, London, SW7 2EA As part of the festival, the famous Russian singer-songwriter, Boris Grebenshchikov, will be coming to London to perform at the awards ceremony and to open an exhibition of his paintings at the Exhibitionist Hotel. Although Boris is widely recognised for his musical contribution, he has been engaged in visual arts for many years, and this show is just another proof of that. Grebenshchikov started painting in 1976, focusing on depicting his state of mind and conveying it to the viewer, rather than mastering specific technical skills. What’s more, painting is not the only visual art Boris has been experimenting with – the founding father of Russian rock, as people often refer to him, has starred in many films including Two Captains 2 and others. His music is used in a lot of Russian films made in the last 40 years.

November 24th - December 1st RFW Ecology Day Exhibition Russia Culture House, 37 Kensington High St, Kensington, London W8 5ED Another event that will be held along with the festival is a photo exhibition dedicated to Amur tigers. Every year the Russian Film Week team supports a charity, and this year, to mark the Year of Ecology in Russia, the choice fell on the WWF UK project to save Amur tigers in Russia. Poaching is one of the reasons the population of tigers is declining; Pavel Fomenko and his team work in a natural reserve, curing and operating wounded animals. Through showing photos of endangered tigers, Russian Film Week and WWF are hoping to raise people’s environmental awareness as well as funds in order to contribute to the project. The exhibition will include works by the award winning photographer, Vladimir Medvedev, showing the breathtaking beauty of Russia’s nature. All the proceeds will be sent to wildlife sanctuaries and spent on enhancing the population of Amur tigers. The exhibition opens on 24th November at Russian Culture House.

November 26th Mathilde Costumes  BFI Southbank, Belvedere Rd, South Bank, London SE1 8XT  Last but not least, on the day of the closing ceremony, a fine selection of chic and lavish costumes designed for the film Mathilde, the drawing card of the festival, will be shown in the main lobby of the BFI Southbank. The collection of fabulous hand made dresses, including the ones sewed for the coronation scene of the movie, has been exhibited in many European galleries and now is finally arriving in London. So even if you have missed a chance to watch Mathilde, it is worth coming around to the closing party to check out the costumes! Tickets to the closing party can be purchased here. Exhibition is free.

READ MORE

MORE EVENTS! The programers of Russian Film Week have partnered with Russian Culture House (Rossotrudnichestvo), Waterstones and Pushkin House to organise some fantastic satellite events on top of the jam-packed film festival program. The full program of RFW events is now available. 20th November: Day 2 / Monday Music in Film Pushkin House, 5A Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2TA 18.30 A tribute to renowned Soviet director Mikhail Kalik (1927-2017), a great lost name of the 60’s Soviet cinema, and his films with music by the internationally acclaimed composer Mikael Tariverdiev. We will be showing two short documentaries about Kalik and Tariverdiev respectively and the rare stylish film “To Love” (1968). Presented by London composer and The Real Tuesday Weld frontman Stephen Coates and film scholar and the Golden Unicorn Awards Jury member Olga Sherwood. 22nd November: Day 4 / Wednesday RFW FemFest Waterstones Piccadilly, LG, 203-206 Piccadilly, London W1V 9LE, 14.00 – 16.00 RFW FemFest is a series of events dedicated to women in the film industry, held at different venues across London. Short film screening and presentation on the making of a documentary about women in the Russian Revolution and Soviet history: Tractor Drivers and Tiger Tamers, Politicians and Cosmonauts (32 min), director and screenwriter Dolya Gavanski, UK, 2017. Followed by: Women in Film (https://rfw17femfest.eventbrite.co.uk), a panel discussion on the subject: Gender equality and diversity do not come by themselves. Guests include film directors, producers, actresses and successful women from both Russia and the UK, who will present their films and projects. Panellists: Anna MacDonald (London Film Academy, founder) Anna Dudina (BFI Development Events Manager) Ekaterina Kononenko (The First, producer) Alyona Babenko (Like a Butterfly, producer) Nigina Sayfullaeva (About Love 2, director) Lidia Sheinin (Harmony, director) Katrin Rothe (1917: The Real October, writer, director) Refreshments will be offered. There will also be screenings as part of the RFW FemFest, see: http://www.russianfilmweek.org/programme-2017_dates.html   Master-class by film director and writer Andrey Zvyagintsev:  The secrets of directing (based on the film Elena) Picture House Central, Corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Great Windmill Street, Piccadilly, London W1D 7DH 15:00-17:00 Zvyagintsev’s name is quite well known in Britain, first for his 2003 film The Return, which won him a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Following The Return, Zvyagintsev directed The Banishment and Elena. His film Leviathan was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2014. His most recent film Loveless won the Jury Prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. The Film Loveless is screened by RFW on 21st November at 20:30 at Curzon Soho. Master-class supported by Cultural Solidarity Media   RFW Documentary Programme: RFW FemFest – Women in Film  Pushkin House (5A Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2TA) 18.30 Screenings of Harmony (59 min, 2017) followed by Q&A with director, writer and producer Lidia Sheinin, and Teriberka (41 min, 2017). 23rd November: Day 5 / Thursday RFW Industry Day  Russian Culture House (Rossotrudnichestvo), 37 Kensington High St, Kensington, London W8 5ED 12.00-18.00 A networking event for film industry professionals (https://rfw17industry.eventbrite.co.uk). RFW brings over film directors, producers and actors to represent the films screened during the festival and invites producers, distributors, casting agents, screenwriting experts, investors, lawyers and other professionals specializing in the filmmaking business from Britain and other countries of the world. 1. Filming opportunities in Russia and in the UK 2. Independent films distribution 3. Film financing (Private, Government, Tax Rebate) Industry Day Programme: 12.00 – 12.30 registration followed by Tribute to the late Russian film director Vera Glagoleva (by David Kelly) 12.30 – 14.30 Presentations on the latest film innovations, including VR, the Baikal 3D project and contemporary filming opportunities in Russia/UK 14.30 –15.00 Short break, refreshments served 15.00 – 17.00 Presentations continued, pitching 17.00 – 18.00 Networking and VR demonstrations. Drinks offered. RFW Documentary Programme: Revolution Centenary Pushkin House, 5A Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2TA 18.30 Screenings of The Train from Zurich to the Revolution (27 min, 2017) and 1917. The Real October (90 min, 2017) followed by a Q&A with the directors and producers of both films. 25th November: Day 7 / Saturday Pushkin House (5A Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2TA 15.00 Masterclass by film director, writer, producer Valery Todorovsky: Why are TV series more popular today than feature films? Todorovsky made a name for himself with the crime melodrama set in Moscow The Country of the Deaf. The film was entered into the 48th Berlin International Film Festival. His 2008 musical film Hipsters won the Golden Eagle Award and Nika Award for Best Film. Of his earlier films, The Hearse won the Grand Prix at Mannheim (1990) and Love received Ecumenical Prize at Cannes (1992). His film Bolshoi is screened at the RFW-17 on 24th November.

READ MORE

After a successful inaugural event in 2016, Russian Film Week will be returning to the UK for a second year to host a series of film screening with Q&As, premieres, master-classes, exhibitions, networking and charity events, as well as their very own Golden Unicorn Awards ceremony. The festival will run from November 19th to November 26th. The 2017 Russian Film Week will also be expanding to several new venues across London and five additional cities. The 2016 Russian Film Week was also notable for the attendance of famed Russian singer Dima Bilan, who brought attention to the event from his fans spanning numerous countries.

Dima Bilan "The Heritage of Love" Press Conference | Russian Film Week 2016

More than 100 leading directors, actors and producers from Russia, Great Britain and other countries will take part in the Week and more than fifty of the best of the best Russian films produced in the last 18 months, including Attraction by Fyodor Bondarchuk, Spacewalker by Dmitry Kiselev, Mathilde by Alexey Uchitel and others, will be screened at 16 venues in London, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester and Oxford.

The festival was created in 2016 by the company Perkon Productions (UK) and Synergy university (Russia), which became the partners and co-producers of the event.

The RFW board of trustees includes such well-known filmmakers as Ralph Fiennes, Brian Cox, Elliot Grove, Valery Todorovsky and Alexey Uchitel. Celebrities, dignitaries, famous people such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Tom Hooper, Olga Kurylenko, Sir Leonard Blavatnik, Prince Michael of Kent, Baroness Rebuck were invited to the festival as guests of honor.

"The festival’s aim is to draw attention of the general public to Russian cinema and Russian culture in general, – says Vadim Lobov, Synergy University Executive Director. – We want as many people as possible living not only in Russia, but also in other countries, to see films by Russian directors. Events like this contribute to the strengthening of mutual understanding and friendship among peoples, to overcoming barriers and prejudices."

In addition to film screenings, there will be a host of satellite events taking place within the framework of the Russian Film Week: talks and master-classes by filmmakers, round table discussions and networking events, exhibitions. It has become a good tradition to collect of funds for charitable foundations. Last year, the festival collected £ 85,000 for children with cancer, which are under the care of sister funds Gift of Life UK/Podari Zhizn (Russia). 2017 is declared the Year of Ecology in Russia, therefore RFW has teamed up with WWF UK to collect funds for the Amur tiger in Russia conservation project.

 Russian Film Week will culminate with the Golden Unicorn Awards Ceremony and Charity Gala. The nominations presented to the international jury include: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Emerging Talent, Best Foreign Film about Russia, and others. The gala will be held at the Langham Ballroom on November 25th, Russian rock-star and ballad singer Boris Grebenshchikov and Polina Goudieva will perform, a charity auction to collect funds for WWF will take place.

"Our mission is to help bring people, cultures, worldviews closer together, overthrow the barriers of misunderstanding and push wider the horizons of cooperation. Nothing better than film contributes to this in the modern world. – says Filip Perkon, RFW General Producer. – We want the funds raised during our UK film week to go to good causes in Russia, because charity is another beautiful form of building bridges of friendship."

An important integral part of the film week, also dedicated to the Year of Ecology, will be a Student Short Film Competition "The Responsibility of the Young for the Future of Our Planet", organised by the Synergy University. The winner will receive The Golden Unicorn – Synergy Award, as well as an educational trip to the most famous film studios in the UK.

In 2016, the festival was held at 9 venues in London and Cambridge. The event brought together more than 50 leading cinematographers from Russia and Europe, and the audience of the event exceeded 4,500 people. In 2017, the scale of the festival will be expanded, so these figures promise to become much more impressive (note: this year the films Mathilde and Arrhythmia were sold out in less than 36 hours after the tickets release).

For more information about Russian Film Week and Golden Unicorn awards please visit: http://www.russianfilmweek.org.

READ MORE

For those of you that might not have been keeping up with my social media postings, I did one-on-one interviews in London with "Fear The Walking Dead" cast members Alycia Debnam-Carey (Alicia Clark) and Colman Domingo (Victor Strand) about a month ago for UK-outlet MYMBUZZ. Among other things, Alycia shared about the physical challenges of playing Alicia as the show has begun to embark on a more traditional apocalyptic route.

“There was one episode where we were on sand dunes and I remember having to run up sand dunes for hours, and just thinking, ‘When will this end? My legs are so sore!’”

Speaking with Colman Domingo was an absolute pleasure, particularly when I steered the conversation towards the topic of media representation.

“I don’t even think the intention was for it to be a character that we haven’t seen before or a character that would eschew certain tropes. I think that they were just building this character of, ‘What is the strongest character for this show?’ I don’t even think that Victor Strand was meant to be African-American at all. From what I know with the showrunner, the intention was that the character, it’s written, it’s in the language, and whether he is white, black, Asian, or other, I think Victor Strand possibly could have been a woman, or gay, straight, you name it. But I think that’s the cool thing about it. All I can do is try to be honest and sincere, and work hard, and try and bring something complex that people respond to in some way.”

To watch the full interviews, tune in to the videos posted to MYMBUZZ's YouTube channel:

READ MORE