Bodrov left the Oscar committee, Zvyagintsev left the Union of Cinematographers

Alexey Uchitel does not lose hope to stabilize the situation

After the decision of the Presidium of the Film Academy, founded by Nikita Mikhalkov, on Russia’s refusal to nominate its candidate for the Oscar award, was disseminated in the media on September 26, the ranks of not only the Russian Oscar Commission, but also the Union of Cinematographers began to thin out. Film director Sergei Bodrov, who lives in the USA, supported his colleague Pavel Chukhrai and left the Russian Oscar Committee, remaining a member of the American Film Academy.

Recall that the decision not to participate in the nomination was made by the presidium of the Film Academy without the consent of the authorized commission and its chairman, film director Pavel Chukhrai. He learned about the incident from journalists, after which he announced that he was leaving his post. Film directors Nikolai Dostal, Vladimir Kott, Andrey Zvyagintsev followed Chukhrai’s example, and he was twice an Oscar nominee in 2014, when Leviathan was nominated, and in 2017, when Dislike was among the applicants.

Andrey now lives in Paris after a long illness and treatment in Germany for the consequences of covid and subsequent rehabilitation. He also announced his withdrawal from the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation, which is headed by Nikita Mikhalkov. Zvyagintsev also left the ranks of the Golden Eagle film academy headed by Mikhalkov, and along with the alternative to it, Nika. Andrey Zvyagintsev explained his choice, in particular, by his unwillingness to be related to an organization whose members learn about the decisions made from the newspapers. As Sergey Astakhov, the operator of the films “In love of his own free will”, “Brother”, “Brother 2”, “Heart of Parma”, Sergey Astakhov, said, there was a situation when you have a ticket, but for some reason you are trying to outwit the conductor.

There are about 20 people in the ranks of the Russian Oscar commission. Almost all of them learned from Russia’s refusal to participate in the Oscar nominations from the media. Some, like producer Yevgeny Gindilis, left the commission earlier, not considering it possible to take part in its work in the current socio-political situation. Someone just calmed down, not having the will to decide.

The Academy Awards will take place on March 12, 2023. Representatives of different countries must submit their applicants by November 15, 2022. Theoretically, there is still time. Aleksey Uchitel urged his colleagues to announce a general meeting and still vote for their candidate.

The Russian shortlist includes 122 films. But who to choose from him is not such an easy question. This year, we did not have films like Kira Kovalenko’s Unclenching Fists, which would become winners of the Cannes Film Festival. Our films simply did not take part in the world’s main film screenings, which means that there are no trump cards for promotion.

Information about Russia’s refusal to participate in the Oscar campaign has already spread in the foreign press, and Mikhalkov’s demarche is called a boycott there.