Sokurov’s “Fairy Tale” Was Canceled in Russia: “Like in Soviet Times”

“The time of my life has stopped again”

On October 15, the Moscow premiere of Alexander Sokurov’s film “The Fairy Tale” was supposed to take place. He did not have a distribution certificate, but the international status of the festival allowed it to be shown. However, it was canceled without explanation. Sokurov’s premonition did not disappoint: the very next day “The Tale” was denied a distribution certificate.

The festival organizers apologized to the audience, promised to return money for tickets and cheerfully announced that there was a busy program ahead: an Indian film, a classic by Robert Bresson, a special project by Sasha Petrov, which he would personally present.

Having received the news of the cancellation of the Moscow screening, Sokurov said: “The Ministry of Culture banned the screening of the film “Fairy Tale” on October 15 in Moscow at the international festival “Karo. Art.” Now we are trying to figure out the motivation. There are big problems ahead in life – just like in Soviet times, when all my works were banned from being shown. The time of my life has stopped again. I don’t ask for help: as before, no one can help me. Obviously, there is a refusal to issue a distribution certificate for “The Tale” – a censorship ban on showing the film in my homeland. And an unspoken ban on showing all my previously created cinematographic works. “I’m not just protesting against censorship, I’m protesting against the violation of my constitutional right to freely communicate my works with my compatriots.”

“The Fairy Tale” was created in co-production with Belgium and was not filmed with state budget funds. It is based on newsreels, from which the figures of the leaders of World War II are borrowed – Stalin, Churchill, Mussolini, Hitler. They are transported to the other world, Dante’s Purgatory. The text is made up of quotes from influential historical figures, now retirees from beyond the grave, wandering in the fog of their lives. Hitler recalls a visit to the Kremlin, where Stalin gave him drink, but he did not get drunk. The soldiers, who were never buried, curse the Fuhrer in weak voices. And he sees Jews everywhere.

When it became known that Sokurov had not been issued a rental certificate, a corresponding document with the letter “Zh” on the entire page surfaced on social networks. There is no Saltykov-Shchedrin for all this. Subparagraph “g” in the law on the issuance of rental certificates means the following reason for refusal: “in other cases determined by federal laws.” Sokurov believes that they don’t explain anything to us because they perceive it as dust. The procedure for issuing rental certificates has turned into a moloch of censorship prohibited by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which Sokurov never ceases to repeat. In “The Fairy Tale” the phrase sounds: “Don’t listen to Sokurov, go forward!” This is how it works in life.

The world premiere of “The Tale” took place in August 2022 at the International Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland, after which it was shown at the Busan Film Festival in South Korea and the Tokyo Film Festival. It was released in many countries around the world. In Paris these days, queues lined up at cinemas to see it. In June, the first Russian screening took place at the International Film Festival “Example of Intonation” in St. Petersburg, although without the participation of the author. In July, Sokurov personally presented the film at the VOICES Young European Film Festival in Vologda. In September, at the Tashkent International Film Festival, he also presented his film and conducted a master class. And at the closing of the festival, he was presented with an award for his contribution to world cinema, and it was so powerful, in a large open area, in the presence of outstanding filmmakers who came to Uzbekistan from all over the world. It’s worth a lot these days. Sokurov only briefly thanked his colleagues.

On the same day that the Moscow screening of “Fairy Tales” was cancelled, film scholars and film critics published an open letter, sending copies to the Ministry of Culture and Roskomnadzor, regarding the revocation of the distribution certificate of the Yakut film “Aita” by Stepan Burnashev. Alexander Sokurov also came out in support of him a little earlier, calling the incident a mistake. The letter says that “Aite” is accused of “destructive information that contradicts the principles of the unity of the peoples of Russia,” but the film “does not incite ethnic contradictions, but unequivocally condemns arbitrariness, no matter what caused it,” and “the ban on a film produced in Yakutia , which was carried out by two federal departments, certainly does not contribute to the unity of the peoples of Russia.” “We consider it our civic duty to note that peremptory refusals to issue rental certificates, as well as revocations of previously issued certificates, have become a vicious practice of the Ministry of Culture, which contradicts Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which prohibits censorship. We believe that a ban on rentals is possible only by a court decision, which gives the floor to prosecutors and defense attorneys,” the letter says.

When passions flared up around Aita, the film was a success in Kazakhstan, breaking the record for the number of spectators. Everything we see has already happened in our cinema. Dozens of paintings sent to the “shelf” during Soviet times were returned to viewers during perestroika. The course of history cannot be stopped.