Actor Kurdzidis told how they agreed with Depp and DiCaprio about their arrival in the Caucasus

“Five years ago I did not encounter officials”

On Thursday, August 4, the guest of the Star Kitchen, Honored Artist of Russia, President and Producer of the Crystal Spring Film Festival, Euclid Kurdzidis, participated in the MK press center.

Moscow filmmakers who came to the festival in Essentuki at his invitation are perplexed how it is possible that the festival is announced, and just a couple of weeks before its opening it turns out that it will not take place, and support is denied. Various versions of the scheme were put forward, reminiscent of the dashing 90s. Euclid spoke about the reasons for what happened, how he managed to avoid collapse. Now he is trying to comprehend the recent events that would have knocked anyone out of the saddle, but this did not happen with our guest.

Euclid Kyurdzidis grew up in the Caucasus, dreaming of a cultural revival in his native southern city, where, as he says, life is materialistic: money, money, money, work, home, work. When Euclid organized the first festival, he mentally said goodbye to life: “It seemed that if it did not happen, then they would bury me.” Too many people were involved in the process. When everything was just beginning, I had to beg famous artists to come. Someone asked where the Essentuki were. Irina Muravyova recalls: “I was persuaded to come for two years, but it was I who had to persuade me to be invited.”

Before the fifth anniversary film screening, Euclid and his colleagues negotiated with Hollywood stars about their possible visit to Essentuki. Among them are Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino, Antonio Banderas, Gerard Depardieu. During the pandemic, things have become more difficult. “The pandemic has changed us,” says Euclid. “We began to appreciate life more, we don’t put off anything for tomorrow.” In previous years, Catherine Deneuve and Pierre Richard visited Essentuki. In order to invite Alisa Freindlich, Euclid traveled to Tula, where she was at that moment. He dreamed of opening the name star of Alisa Brunovna.

“Five years ago I did not come across officials,” Euclid admitted, and now he has to work closely with them. They promised to allocate money for the festival, and then it turned out that the festival project was participating in a competition that was won by a completely different company. Behind the backs of the founders of the author’s film review, as they call it, an undercover game was played. They called already invited artists, tried to persuade them, as our guest says, to treacherously persuade them to come, but to another festival with the same name. And the project was born, according to Euclid, for the city of his childhood. We must pay tribute to our guest, who did not lose his head and, despite the prohibitions (and he was not even allowed to spread the red carpet), did what he considered proper. Not at all to spite all ill-wishers, not for the sake of proving something to someone. People who could accuse him of having deceived them said something completely different: “You would kill hope in me if the festival did not take place.” But it took place in a different format, it became a children’s one, and 200 children participated in it, who made their films, as it was intended. Children and their parents are a great force. Helped me not to fall.