For the 7th consecutive year, Unifrance and the French Embassy in Russia are to host the French Film Festival in Russia.
After previous years held in Moscow, Vladivostok, and Yekaterinburg, this year’s festival will take place from December 5 through 10 in two major Russian cities, Nijni-Novgorod and Novossibirsk.
The choice of locations for the festival reflects the desire of festival organizers to respond to the growing importance of regional cities in Russia, which over the past two years have attracted more moviegoers than the historical capitals, Moscow and St Petersburg. The selection of films presented was put together by Russian distributors in order that the event serve as a launching platform for the films’ upcoming commercial release, on both a regional and national level.
"L'Entente cordiale" by Vincent Brus, "Flanders" by Bruno Dumont, "Quatre étoiles” by Christian Vincent, and "Aurore" by Nils Tavernier will be released in Nijni-Novgorod and Novossibirsk prior to their release in Moscow. The collective film “Paris, je t’aime" and "A Few Days In September" by Santiago Amigorena, which have already been released in the Russian capital, will be offered regional distribution.
A delegation of French creative crew members from these films, accompanied by representatives from Unifrance, the French Foreign Affairs Ministry, and the French Embassy in Moscow will be present in both Nijni-Novgorod and Novossibirsk.
Russia: a buoyant market
Nowadays, the Russian movie theater sector offers over 1,100 screens that meet international technical standards, of which 65% are located in the provinces. The sector shows an increase of 200 new screens annually (compared to around 50 new screens in France). 53 French films gained release in this territory in 2005, attracting 2.9 million spectators. At a time when Russian movie production is enjoying major growth (capturing 30% of the market in 2005) and multiplex construction is booming French films must stand their ground in retaining a place on movie screens. This market numbers 144 million potential spectators (with 91.8 million admissions registered in 2005). And while festivals in Moscow and St Petersburg were well attended, Unifrance aims to further bolster the popularity of French productions throughout the country.
Project Manager:
Joël Chapron (33 1 47 53 27 09)
email: joel.chapron@unifrance.org
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