Editor

A series of Russian Film festivals will be conducted from 9 November to 30 December in Australia, Mexico, Spain and Brazil. Popular feature films and animations, adapted for screening abroad, will be available for free on local streaming platforms. For the Russian film industry, this is the first online      project of its kind, aimed at such a wide international audience.

The main goal of the Russian Film Festival, initiated by ROSKINO, the organization charged with promoting Russian content worldwide is to introduce the variety of modern Russian content to all movie fans internationally. By launching the Russian Film Festival brand, Roskino has set a new direction for promoting Russian content on the international markets.

The Russian Film Festival kicks off on 9 November on the Hyvio in Australia; then the FilminLatino in Mexico will come into play on 19 November. On 10 December, the Spanish Filmin and Brazilian Spcine Play will join festival program.

‘In recent years, Russian content has become more popular on VOD platforms. Case in point are the Russian animation projects in China, the success of the 'To the Lake' series bought by Netflix (this series is currently the 3rd best viewed TV Show on the platform), and others. The Festival program, from animation and thriller to auteur movies, has been tailored to meet the interests of a wide audience of different ages and with various preferences in film genres. In the future, we plan to implement a hybrid format of the Russian Film Festival, combining online and offline events’, says Evgenia Markova, ROSKINO CEO.

The program of each festival will include eight films of different genres (the content will slightly vary for each country). All films will be shown with local subtitles; as for animation projects, the viewers can enjoy fully dubbed cartoons. In each country, a promotional campaign will be organized by ROSKINO together with the streaming platforms.

The countries participating in the Russian Film Festival were not chosen at random; they are perspective markets for the Russian content. For example, Mexico and Brazil are in the top 10 foreign markets by box office of Russian films in 2014-2019.

RFF participants talk about the festival

 ‘When ROSKINO approached us with the possibility of hosting the 2020 Russian Film Festival for Australia, we were excited to partner with them on this new venture, which allows us to be a part of introducing some of Russian film’s brightest stars and stories to the Australian people’, -  MJ Angel, Founder, Hyvio (Australia);

‘Throughout the years, Russia has distinguished itself for its artistic avant-gardes and constant reinvention in film, awakening a big interest within the Mexican audience. By having this festival online, Russia and Mexico are strengthening the existing ties between both film industries, as well as fostering the exchange of ideas of two countries with great stories’, - Fernanda Rio,  Film Promotion, FilminLatino (Mexico);

‘Contemporary Russian cinema has the potential and ambition needed to reach the general Spanish public and we'll put all our dedication and efforts to make it so’, - Joan Sala, Programmer & Managing Editor, Filmin (Spain);

‘We are very excited about this partnership with the Russian Film Festival, as the Russian filmography is one of the most poignant and interesting in the world today. It is a perfect fit with our objective of spreading quality content in our country’, - Dilson Neto, Head of Content, Spcine (Brazil).

About the Russian Film Festival 2020 program:

- Arrhythmia by Boris Khlebnikov (drama);

2017 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Main Program Participant; Best Male Actor (Alexander Yatsenko);

2017 Toronto International Film Festival: Contemporary World Cinema Program);

2017 Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival: Grand Prix, Best Male Actor (Alexander Yatsenko);

- Core of the World by Natalia Meshchaninova (drama);

2018 Kinotavr Open Russian Film Festival: Grand Prix; Prize of the Russian Guild of Film Scholars and Critics; Best Actor (Stepan Devonin);

2018 San Sebastian Film Festival: New Directors section;

2018 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF): Contemporary World Cinema program;

- The Man Who Surprised Everyone by Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov (drama);

2018 Member for the Horizons (Orizzonti) section (Best Actress Award) of the 75th Venice International Film Festival;

- The Story of an Appointment by Avdotya Smirnova (a historical film about the events involving the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy);

- Text by Klim Shipenko (thriller, based on the bestseller of Dmitry Glukhovsky);

- A Frenchman by Andrey Smirnov (drama);

2020 International Film Festival Rotterdam;

- Another Woman by Anna Parmas (comedy);

- The Bolshoi by Valery Todorovsky (drama about the world of ballet);

- Ice by Oleg Trofim (romance, sports drama; in top 10 top-grossing Russian films abroad in 2019);

- Beanpole by Kantemir Balagov;

2019 Prize for the best director’s work at Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard selection);

2020 shortlisted for Oscar’s Best International Film;

 Animation projects:

- The Snow Queen 3: Fire and Ice (top-grossing Russian film abroad in 2014-2019);

- The Snow Queen 4: Mirrorlands (in top 3 Russian films by the international box office in 2019);

- The Big Trip (in top 3 Russian films by the international box office in 2019).