Replace “Kinotavr” was not so easy

Which festivals are applying for the vacancy

In September, the Open Russian Film Festival “Kinotavr” was to be held – the main review of national cinema, which had been held in Sochi for many years. Filmmakers rushed to him. Many of them were ready for anything, even threats against the selectors, just to get the opportunity to premiere at the Winter Theater. For the first time in many years, the festival did not take place.

His fate turned out to be unknown, after the long-term head of the film review, Alexander Rodnyansky, left the country in February. There were enough films accumulated, there was no way out for them. The box office began to decline, cinemas closed, no one was invited to international festivals. Cannes and Venice refused Russian prime ministers. Exceptions are rare. Apart from the premiere of Alexander Sokurov’s Tale in Locarno, there is probably nothing to remember.

The need for a big auteur film festival is great. The founding father of Kinotavr, Mark Rudinshtein (he died on December 5, 2021), has repeatedly said that the festival must be held on the seashore, in a beautiful and small city, following the example of the Cannes Film Festival. And it does not matter that none of the participants will even come to the sea. It just has to feel like a holiday.

When there was a rumor about the appearance of the festival. Stanislav Govorukhin, they immediately started talking about the fact that he would become a replacement for Kinotavr. Its opening is planned for autumn in the new cinema and concert hall of Mosfilm, which is being built by Karen Shakhnazarov. The widow of Govorukhin insists that only there the film screening, bearing the name of her husband, should take place, since he worked at the film studio for many years.

Talk about the need for a big festival did not subside. Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova constantly spoke about this. But organizing a new business is not easy. Gradually, the idea of ​​Govorukhin’s film screening as a substitute for the lost Kinotavr faded into the shadows. In August, partly and unintentionally, the functions of the Sochi film review were taken over by the oldest national festival “Window to Europe” in Vyborg, which celebrated its 30th anniversary. For a long time he got the remnants from the master’s table, everything that did not get to Kinotavr. But in recent years, the festival has gained momentum, and had a very representative and interesting program. This year, many producers submitted to his competition films intended not only for Kinotavr, but also for foreign festivals.

Another festival claiming the vacancy of the main national film review is New Season. It will be held for the first time in mid-September at the Rosa Khutor mountain resort in Sochi. Its organization is handled by the director of “Kinotavr” Polina Zueva. Support for the new undertaking is provided by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. He has one feature. The focus of his attention will be the original content of online cinemas. According to the plan of the organizers, the festival will bring together not only new Russian films, but also serials, without which almost no big film screening is now complete, whether it be Cannes, Venice or the former Kinotavr. The “New Season” is intended to demonstrate the current genre and stylistic trends in film production on one platform.

Its program promises to present two or three episodes of approximately fourteen premiere series, seven fresh full-length films created with the participation of platforms, as well as films that are scheduled to premiere in online cinemas. And there are more and more of them. Some producers do not even dream of a cinema and theatrical distribution, but are initially focused on online platforms.

But this was not enough, and just announced the birth of another festival with the support of the Ministry of Culture. If in Sochi screenings were held at the Winter Theater, now the new Author’s Film Forum will be called “Winter” and will be held in early December in Moscow. The organizers declare that it will become “an authoritative platform for expert evaluation of the domestic film industry from the standpoint of current trends that determine the development of modern cinema in the world.” “Author’s cinema has always been the engine of the great Soviet, Russian and world cinema,” reads the presentation message of the festival. – Today he found himself in a difficult situation, becoming a hostage to processes that are far from art. In the spectator environment, the traditions of watching complex films are being lost. It is important to teach the audience to watch original films, to help them understand their structure.”

Fresh author’s works will be presented at Zimny, which will be evaluated by a professional jury consisting of reputable filmmakers. In addition to the main one, a student jury will also be formed from representatives of film schools. It will present an award to one of the participants in the main competition. The organizers of the “Winter” were experienced producers Natalia Mokritskaya and Maxim Korolev.