“Lullaby of Peace” shall be Shown at the Moscow International Film Festival for Children and Young People

The première of the first two instalments of the animated film cycle Kolybelnye Mira (Lullaby of Peace) by Lisa Skvortsovoy will be held at the Moscow International Film Festival for Children and Young People on 26 December in the Roland cinema hall, the press service of the festival reported to RIA-Novosti.  Initially, the project was conceived and made as a TV series. But, as the press service release went on to say, such great interest was shown in the project during the previews of the festival that the producers decided to make a special theatrical film cycle entitled Kolybelnye Mira: Samye Sladkie Sny… (Lullaby of Peace: Sweetest Slumbers…)

Each cartoon in the programme shows a lullaby from different countries all around the world. At the present moment, there are already 20 complete animations of lullabies from India, Georgia, Spain, Africa, Chukotka, Greece, France, and other countries, as well. According to the creators, despite cultural differences, the theme of all lullabies is identical, in that they embody the wishes of happiness and joy that any mother desires for her child. Each lullaby is a short and interesting commentary about the song itself and the people who sing that particular lullaby.

The project has already received a number of awards, prizes, and certificates at festivals in Russia and abroad. In addition, it has been honoured by international institutions concerned with children’s welfare and ecumenism. In total, the producers intend to release four instalments of the cycle.  The next two instalments shall be released to the public in the spring and summer of 2009, then, it is planned to release a DVD of the complete cycle.

On the same day, 26 December, the festival shall show the Russian film Na Mostu (On the Bridge) as part of its competition. Its creators are a father-and-son team, named Razumovsky. The plot of the film concerns a 13-year-old orphan who becomes an accomplice to a murder and runs away from his orphanage. After arriving in Moscow, he finds himself in a centre for troubled adolescents. Here, he meets new friends and meets his first love.

25 December 2008

Natalia Kurova

RIA-Novosti

http://www.rian.ru/culture/20081225/158063900.html (in Russian)

The Radiant Angel International Good Cinema Festival Stretches Out Its Wings

Until 12 November, the Fifth Luchezarny Angel (Radiant Angel) Charity International Good Cinema Festival is open in Moscow. Immediately, one asks, “What films can be considered ‘good’?” Yelena Zelinskaya, the vice president of MediaSoyuza, one of the organisers of the festival, explained, “There are films that make us think about history, about the state of contemporary society. Today, precisely this kind of film is claiming more and more audiences. So, we desire to bring such works to the attention of the community. We hope that this festival will become a unique catalyst that shall help cinematography to move in this direction”.

Galina Vishnevskaya in her starring role in Aleksandra (spelled “Alexandra” in Western countries)

This orientation is far from new, the organisers of the festival assert, in every country there are films that were created and are being made now that are oriented to spirituality and the search for “eternal values”. More than 50 films from Russia, the Ukraine, Latvia, Georgia, Kirghizia, China, and Turkey were selected for the competitive programme. These include both entirely new works and those that have already won prestigious awards. For instance, the film Aleksandra (with the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, the widow of the late Mstislav Rostropovich in the title role: editor’s note) by Aleksandr Sokurov has already won the international prize “For the Popularisation of Humanist Values in Music and the Cinema”. The film was titled after the name of its heroine, an elderly Russian woman who went to Chechnya to visit her grandson, who was serving there in the forces. Here, she saw the effects of the war, which left deep scars in the souls of the local residents. “By the force of her love, understanding, and wisdom, she overcame the distrust of the locals, as she was a defender of the good, a mother amongst mothers. This is a film about how people gather themselves together, get their lives back into order, and rebuild their interrelations”, Aleksandr Sokurov stated.

Many of the other films touch on the topics of human relations, love, benevolence, and respect. “This is an extremely special and important year for Russia, The Year of the Family”, noted Svetlana Medvedeva, the wife of President Medvedev, who is the principal patron of the festival. “It is important that the films shown at this festival should help to strengthen family life, they should show examples of moral behaviour in the present, and they should support our tradition of charity”. The festival is also a priority project of the National Programme “Spiritual-Moral Culture of the Coming Generation in Russia”. Besides this, the “angel” shall stretch his wings far beyond Moscow. After the festival ends, the prize-winning films shall be shown in 10 cities around Russia, then, in Serbia, Italy, and Greece.

11 November 2008

Yekaterina Andrusenko

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=89122&cid=24&p=11.11.2008 (in Russian)

A Molieben Opened the “Radonezh” Film and Television Festival in Moscow

Panel discussion at the 2007 Radonezh Festival

Moscow, 27 October 2008 (Interfax):

The 13^th “Radonezh” International Festival of Films and Television Programmes opened on Monday, 27 October, with a molieben to the Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir at the church of St Nicholas in Tolmachakh at the Tretyakov Gallery. As a part of the festival, today, the Chorus of the Tretyakov Gallery under the direction of Aleksei Puzakov, Honoured Artist of Russia, shall give a concert during the daytime, and, this evening, the formal opening of the festival shall take place in White Hall of the Central House of Cinema Arts, the centrepiece of the affair being a showing of the film, Nikolai II: Sorbanny Triumpf (Nikolai II: The Torn-away Triumph).

The Festival shall run until 31 October. This year, there are some 180 entrants. The competition panel selected 48 works from Australia, Bulgaria, Byelorussia, and the Ukraine, along with productions from Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan, Birobidzhan, and other Russian cities to compete for festival awards. The works showcased at the festival tell, in artistic form, about both individuals and society in their relations with family values, which are the stable foundation of the Orthodox world-view. An overriding priority of the Radonezh Festival is the search for works that deal in an artistic manner with the problems involved with the strengthening of family values and the spiritual-moral upbringing of young people, thus, giving a meaning to the events of ordinary life.

This year, the event is free and open to the general public. In particular, there are going to be free showings of films and TV programmes, master-classes are on offer, and ordinary people shall have the chance to meet producers and other figures. Amongst the most noticeable works to be shown are the cycle Planeta Pravoslaviya (Orthodox Planet) and Gallipoiskoye Stoyanie (A Stand at Gallipoli). All the major television networks in Russia are going to be represented in the competition. The festival has been in operation since 1995 with the blessing of Patriarch Aleksei II of Moscow and all Russia. It is also sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, the RF agencies for cinematography, press, and mass media, the Russian Union of Cameramen, and the local government of Moscow.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=27078 (in Russian)

The Starry Duet of Yekaterina Maksimova and Vladimir Vasilyev: A Ballet Festival in Tribute to Their 50 Years on the Stage

A major tribute to Yekaterina Maksimova and Vladimir Vasilyev, “the most beautiful pair in 20^th century Russian ballet”, is now being held from 24 to 27 October on the stage of the legendary Bolshoi Theatre here in Moscow. The four-day festival dedicated to the 50 years Vasiliyev and Maksimova have each spent on stage and teaching young dancers pays well-deserved tribute to dancers who have become a symbol of impeccable mastery to the whole world. It was not for nothing that the towering figure of Italian cinema, Franco Zefirelli, invited them to add their dancing brilliance to his famous film La Traviata. Their splendid dancing in the “Ball Scene” shone brilliantly and embellished the segment.

Long a husband and wife, Maximova and Vasilyev are no longer active dancers, but, are still in great demand in training a young generation of dancers in the grand traditions of classical Russian ballet. In addition, Vladimir Vasilyev is a choreographer and he described his new work to us. “A choreographer is someone in whom thought, feelings, and means of expression come together to get his ideal across to the audience. Nonsense will never be understood no matter how you present it. It seems to me that that contemporary ballet can be described as such only if it gets to your heart and soul the way it did decades and centuries ago. If this is present, one can say that the presentation is truly contemporary”.

People started to call Yekaterina Maksimova and Vladimir Vasilyev a unique phenomenon at the end of the 1950s when the Bolshoi Ballet was touring Britain, the US, and China. Since then, the two have headlined the Bolshoi’s numerous tours of the world. Their inimitable dancing has been immortalized in many films, including two documentaries about the artists themselves, one of them made by the famous French filmmaker Claude Lelouche. It’s entitled simply Katya and Volodya, the way the great dancers are usually addressed by their near and dear. Meanwhile, in Moscow, Katya and Volodya are being fêted by the principals of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky ballet troupes, who are joined by the leading lights of Paris’s Grand Opéra and the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma…

25 October 2008

Olga Bugrova

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=87474&cid=24&p=25.10.2008 (in Russian)

Here are those Samogonshchiki I’m always talking about…

Poster for the classic Russian film comedy Samogonshchiki (Moonshiners)

My regular readers know my fondness for the term samogonshchiki (moonshiners) for bunglers. Well, here is where it came from, a Soviet short comedy of the 60s called (appropriately enough) Samogonshchiki (Moonshiners). It starred the great clown Yuri Nikulin as Balbes (Booby), supported by Yevgeni Morgunov as Bivaly (Crafty) and Georgi Vitsin as Trus (Coward). Since there is little dialogue in this film, everyone can enjoy the sight gags. I found a five-minute excerpt and present it here. Enjoy!

First, here are our heroes:

Balbes (Booby) (Yuri Nikulin)

Bivaly (Crafty) (Yevgeny Morgunov)

Trus (Coward) (Georgi Vitsin)

These nuts made some more films, and they are amongst the most popular flicks made in Russia. We all love them! Watch the excerpt and see why:

http://kinoros.ru/db/movies/212/video/504/index.html?1224625009647

Exhibition Entitled “The Epoch of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco” Opens in Moscow

An exhibition entitled “The Epoch of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco” opened in the Russian capital. It tells about personal life of the Hollywood star who became the wife of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. The exhibition is timed to coincide with the 25^th anniversary of her tragic death in a car crash. The exposition has been already shown in Monaco and Paris. It was brought to Moscow by the Grimaldi Foundation headed by Sovereign Prince Albert II, Grace Kelly’s son. Later, the exhibition will travel to London, Rome, and New York.

Cultural ties between Monaco and Russia have always been stable. It is well to remind our readers here that, in the early-20^th century, the renowned Diaghilev Ballet Seasons were held in Monaco. A major project in recent days was an exhibition from Russian museums entitled, “Russian Artists of the Jack of Diamonds Group: between Cézanne and Avant-garde Art”.

Attending the opening ceremony in Moscow was a representative of princely family, Herve Eryan. “I hope that the exhibition will be a success in Moscow just as it was a success in Paris and Monaco. Cooperation between Monaco and Moscow becomes ever closer, and I hope that the exhibition will open up a new chapter in bilateral cooperation. I want to emphasise that the bulk of this exhibition’s items are stored in the Palace. These things are dear to me. They are beautiful, and I think that for many they will be associated with a certain return to the past and evoke the feeling of nostalgia”.

The exhibition dedicated to Grace Kelly, heroine of one of the most beautiful fairy-tales of the 20^th century, allows visitors to trace her life story from the very beginning. Grace Kelly came from a Catholic family that was convinced that everything could be earned by diligent labour. She studied and earned money by participating in TV ad clips. Her best roles were in three Albert Hitchcock films, she became an Oscar-winning actress. Visitors can see a photo of the man whom she loved and wanted to marry, US fashion designer Oleg Cassini, who was of Russian background. Yet, his Orthodox parents did not give their blessing. But, there was Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, whom she married. She became Princess and mother of three children. She rejected the cinema for the sake of her family. True, from time to time she felt regret; but, without the intervention of the car crash she, probably, would have returned to it…

Grace Kelly’s life story is told by the numerous things concerning her brought to the Russian capital. Amongst the most interesting exhibits are children’s toys, her wedding dress, video films made by the Princess, and letters of her husband and numerous friends, including Mstislav Rostropovich, Rudolf Nuriyev, and Mark Chagall. Mstislav Rostropovich wrote to the Princess that he looked forward to his trip to Monte Carlo and hoped to see all her family. In Mark Chagall’s letter, the artist signed his autograph in the form of little fish. Grace Kelly’s daughter Princess Stephanie and numerous courtiers arrived in Moscow for the occasion.

16 October 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=33867&cid=59&p=16.10.2008 (in English)

The Exhibition “The Days of Russian Spiritual Culture” shall Travel throughout Latin America

The statue of Cristo Redentor do Rio de Janeiro (Christ the Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro) on Mount Corcovado overlooking Rio de Janeiro in Brazil

Moscow, 29 September 2008 (Interfax):

The exhibition “The Days of Russian Spiritual Culture” shall travel throughout Latin America in October with the blessings of Patriarch Aleksei II of Moscow and all Russia. A delegation with representatives from Russia, including clergymen and prominent cultural figures, shall visit seven countries in the region. They are Cuba, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay. As a part of the programme, joint services shall be held by clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate and the ROCOR. The first liturgy shall be held in Havana in Cuba on 19 October at the parish church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, the chairman of the MP Department of External Church Relations shall lead the Great Blessing of the new church. “The main objective of this event is to engender a positive public opinion concerning the reunification of the MP and the ROCOR and to acquaint Orthodox believers in Latin America with the revival of Orthodoxy in contemporary Russia and the restoration of sacred sites in Russia”, one of the organisers of the exhibition reported to Interfax-Religion on Monday.

Orthodox liturgies and moliebens shall take place in San José, Caracas, São Paulo, Mar del Plata, Santiago, and Asunción. On 25 October, the participants in the delegation shall take part in the parochial festival of the parish of St Zinaida the Martyr. For the first time in history, an Orthodox hierarchical divine liturgy shall be served on the peak of Mount Corcovado at the foot of the famous statue of Cristo Redentor do Rio de Janeiro (Christ the Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro), the symbol of Catholic Brazil. All divine services shall be accompanied by the singers of the Chorus of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow, and they shall also give ten concerts for the general public. As a part of the programme, visitors can visit the exhibition “Orthodox Russia”, the photo exhibition “Modern Russia”, and a presentation of new Orthodox literature sponsored by the Publishing Department of the MP. In addition, in Havana, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, and Santiago, the exhibition shall open a festival of Russian art, documentary, and animated films. The Russia Abroad Centre (Roszarubezhtsentr), the Ministry of Culture, and the Moscow Patriarchate are co-sponsors of this project.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=26699 (in Russian)

Editor’s Note:

Condi Rice is stamping her foot and having a tantrum! “You must isolate Russia! You have to punish them for their imperialism!” It sure looks like the good people of Latin America aren’t listening now… or any time sooner or later, truth be told. They’re getting ready to welcome their Russian guests and enjoy the show! They’re going to show that famous Latin hospitality (not Yanqui petulance), to be sure. I am sorry that this exhibition is not going to San Juan in Puerto Rico… the Bushies hold the island in an iron grip. If America wishes to lecture Russia about bullying smaller countries… I would ask the Cubans and Puerto Ricans their opinion… it just might differ from Condi Rice’s .

No doubt, the Catholic archbishop of Rio de Janeiro is going to be invited to the liturgy on Mount Corcovado. That is NOT ecumenism, it is merely good manners, courtesy, good-will, and neighbourliness, things that I believe that we should show more of. Not every friendly encounter is ecumenism, and, in any case, we are called to be twice as charitable to those outside the house (except for Pentecostalist and Evangelical sectarians, who are hostile to Christ and His Church, of course). May God bless this endeavour.

30 August 2008. A Shot of Culture, If You Please…

“Window to Europe” Film Festival Announces Winners

Nikolai Valuev (1973- ), Russian heavyweight boxing champion and actor. The poster reads, “Kolya (Nick), Piter (slang for St Petersburg, it’s like saying Da Big Apple) is Proud of You!”

The last day of the 16th “Window to Europe” film festival in Vyborg is over. The Stone Head, a movie directed by Filipp Yankovsky and starring famous Russian boxer Nikolai Valuev, won the main prize. Critics say Valuev managed to create a very impressive image of a boxer who had lost his memory in a car crash, but, managed to resume his career. A Passenger, a movie by Stanislav Govorukhin, won the audience choice award. The festival was held under the motto, “The Russian cinema art: a forecast for tomorrow”. 

18 August 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=31248&cid=51&p=18.08.2008 (in English)

International Festival of Drumming Opens In Togliatti

Percussionists from Russia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East are in the Russian city of Togliatti on the Middle Volga for three days of concerts and dancing events during the fifth international festival of drumming. There will be exhibitions of drums and a mass dance marathon by close to 8,000 people.

22 August 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=31521&cid=51&p=22.08.2008 (in English) 

St Petersburg Revives the Custom of Holding Free Music Concerts in Rail Terminals

St Petersburg is reviving the old custom of holding free music concerts in the city’s rail terminals. Orchestras directed by renowned conductors will be playing each Sunday in a 19th-century departure lounge at the Vitebsk Rail Terminal. The custom dates back to the mid-19th century when maestro Johann Strauss entertained holiday-makers at a suburban rail station outside St Petersburg. 

24 August 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=31567&cid=51&p=24.08.2008 (in English)

Centenary of Diaghilev’s Ballet Marked

The centenary of the famous Diaghilev’s ballet seasons in Paris will be marked by the Russian Ballet’s Golden Century exhibition, which is due to run from 17 to 23 September. The non-commercial exhibition will open at the famous Galerie Charpentier to become one of the first events in the framework of the celebration of a centenary of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. The exhibition is due to display 150 exhibits, including original actors’ costumes, as well as posters and sketches by Henry Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Aleksandr Benois, and Mikhail Larionov.

28 August 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=31691&cid=87&p=27.08.2008 (in English) 

International Contest of Young Performers Opens In Sochi

The 4th International Contest of Young Performers, “5 Stars: Intervision”, opens today in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Taking part are 11 singers from the CIS countries, including Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Byelorussia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Ukraine, and also from Latvia. This year, the residents of all these countries will be able to watch the broadcasts. By means of SMS voting the TV viewers will define the prize-winners and the jury will name the best of them. Next year, the “5 Stars: Intervision” music contest will take place in the country whose representative wins the highest number of the TV viewers’ votes. 

28 August 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=31760&cid=51&p=28.08.2008 (in English)

Photo Exhibition Dedicated To 1020th Anniversary of the Baptism of Russia Opens In London

Seraphima (Tatiana Vinnik, 2007). An art-photograph from another Russian photographer, it illustrates the true soul of Russia, a soul that shall never be raped by the neocons.

A photo exhibition dedicated to the 1,020th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia has opened at the All Saints and the Assumption of Mother of God Cathedral in London today. The visitors can see 36 works by the outstanding Russian photographer Vladimir Khodakov. There are landscapes, portraits, and reports, many of which are on display for the first time. The rector of the church, Fr Mikhail, said that through these works the English will have an opportunity to learn more about the sincerity of the Russian psyche, a thing which is rarely covered in the media.

29 August 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=31821&cid=51&p=29.08.2008 (in English)

Mariinsky Theatre Directed By Maestro Valery Gergiev Ended Its Performance in Triumph in Stockholm

Maestro Valery Gergiev (1953- ), Ossetia’s truest son, seen here at a memorial concert in the ruins of Tskhinvali after the end of the Georgian invasion.

The orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg directed by Maestro Valery Gergiev ended its performance in triumph in Stockholm. It performed a concert version of the opera Electra by Richard Strauss as a part of the sixth Baltic Sea Festival. The festival is aimed at not only featuring performances by famous groups in the region, but, also introducing new ones. The Russian orchestra will stage another concert later today. Its programme includes works by Shchedrin, Chaikovsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov.

29 August 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=31852&cid=51&p=30.08.2008 (in English)

An Address from President Medvedev Opened an International Festival in Kazan

President Dmitri Medvedev (1965- )

An address from President Dmitri Medvedev opened an international festival of popular music devoted to inter-ethnic peace in the Russian city of Kazan on the Middle Volga. About a hundred individual singers and groups from all continents will be singing non-stop for ten hours. A duo of singers from Georgia and Ossetia and an ensemble of performers from Israel and the Palestinian Autonomy delivered messages of friendship across conflict lines. 

30 August 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=31859&cid=51&p=30.08.2008 (in English)

Voice of Russia World Service

28 August 2008. Let’s Go to the Movies!

Now that things have settled down a bit in the world, I am getting back to “business as usual”. Here is a new, occasional, feature. If I find a good movie trailer or clip on You Tube, I’ll put it here so you can find out more on Russian cinema. Then, if you like it, go hunt for it! I don’t have any “insider” edge, so, you’re on your own there. Grab that popcorn and “let’s go to the movies!”

This is for a forthcoming production by Pervy Kanal TV (FIrst Channel TV) and CIS 20th Century Fox. It is entitled Admiral Kolchak, and is due out in November 2008. It is a grand historical epic on the life of the great White Guard leader who fought the Reds in the Civil War. Of course, it covers his famous love affair with his mistress Anna Vasilevna Timireva. 

There is a new epic movie Aleksandr Nevsky, on (who else?) Grand Prince Aleksandr Nevsky. You may have to use the Western spelling, “Alexander Nevsky”, to find it. Remember, you are not looking for the classic 1938 Eisenstein film, rather, this is a new production.

Trailer for the epic 1612, covering the successful Russian repulsion of a Polish invasion, where the Poles attempted to ram Roman Catholicism (via the Uniates) down our throats. This is one of the pivotal events of Russian history, as it guaranteed our survival as a free Orthodox people.

Theme music from the movie 1612.

Russian Films are Prize Winners of the International Festival in Karlovy Vary

Aleksei Uchitel (1951- ), prominent Russian film director

A film by Russian director Aleksei Uchitel, Captive, won “the Best Director Award” at the film festival in Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. This new film by the director of such well-known movies as His Wife’s Diary and The Walk is based on a story of Vladimir Makanin, The Captive of the Caucasus. The action takes place in Chechnya. During the hostilities, Russian soldiers take prisoner a Chechen militant. His youth and handsomeness make such contrast with the cruelty of what is happening in real life that a protest grows in the heart of a Russian soldier against the violence and the absurd situation in which an “enemy” dies. According to Aleksei Uchitel, “Such a story could have happened everywhere. All the heroes of this film are actually captives, hostages of a political situation, facing a dreadful choice, either to save his own life by killing another person or to save another person’s life by sacrificing his own”. 

In Karlovy Vary, other Russian films were shown. The Prize of the Forum of Independent Films section went to Anna Melikyan’s film Mermaid. The film has already won the best director award at the US Sundance festival of independent films and the FIPRESCI prize. Anna Melikyan said, however, “The recognition of the jury and film critics is not what matters most for me. I made Mermaid for the audiences of cinema-goers. The film’s success at the festivals came as a surprise to me. I am convinced that films should be made without any passing thought of whether they can or cannot get an award at festivals”.

The Audience Award in Karlovy Vary went to the prominent Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov for his film 12. This year, the film was nominated for an Oscar and received a special Golden Lion at the Venetian film festival. The Grand Prix of the Karlovy Vary Festival was awarded to Dutch director Henrik Ruben Genz for his film Terribly Happy. 

13 August 2008

Yelena Andrusenko

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=31035&cid=62&p=13.08.2008 (in English)