Russian films hit British capital's silver screens

The festival opened on Friday evening with a new animated movie – another interpretation of a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, “The Ugly Duckling”, by Garry Bardin, animation director, screenwriter and producer. During Soviet times he was with Soyuzmultfilm, and created a number of remarkable cartoons. A retrospective show of his best works is also to be held in London.

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Ten new works by Russian directors, that have already been either awarded or received positive reviews from Russian and international critics, will represent the art-movie section. These films include “How I ended this summer” By Aleksey Popogrebsky, which was recently declared the best movie of the London Film Festival.

Another work screened at the London Film Festival, Svetlana Proskurina’s "Truce", is also in the Russian festival’s program, along with “One War” by Vera Glagoleva, Yury Schiller's “Sparrow”, and Sergey Debizhev's "Golden Section".

The animated 3D movie “Star dogs” in honor of Belka and Strelka – the first creatures to enter orbit and return alive – will become one of the highlights of the animation program. Apart from being created with the use of cutting-edge technology, this movie also keeps the charm of old Soviet cartoons. Moreover, it is one of the first Russian productions filmed in 3D.

Visitors will also get a chance to debate the state of modern Russian cinema and the destiny of the documentary genre in Russia, at special discussions and creative evenings featuring directors, critics and others.

The festival coincides with the final of the first Student Short Film Festival for Russian students. A special section will be dedicated to young cinema art: a selection of the best Russian documentaries filmed in the last decade. A retrospective show dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the death of the great Russian writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy will also hit the festival’s screens.

The festival, organized by the Russian-British cultural association Academia Rossica, will last from October 29 until November 7. Some of the events are to be held at the headquarters of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

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