6th St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum

A colloquium on recent Russian cinema was organised in St Petersburg between 13th and 15th November as a prelude to the St Petersburg International Cultural Forum held between 16th and 18th November 2017.

“In Russia, nothing of this sort happened since the early Perestroika,” writes Andrei Plakhov. “Recently, the hopes for the integration of Russian cinema into the world film process melted, and we are even more terra incognita than in the era of the Iron Curtain. Separate films and even brands (for example, animation) sometimes fall into foreign commercial releases, but more often, the case is limited. Yes, our films are shown and awarded at festivals. But still, only a few Russian directors’ names mean something to foreign professionals, not to mention the general public.”

See:

Andrei Plakhov, Russian Cinema: Divided from the Surrounding World by Economic, Mental, and, more Recently, Political Barriers

FIPRESCI members who attended the event give their thoughts on the experience: : MK Raghavendra, Alissa Simon, Yair Raveh, Christina Stojanova, Leo Soesanto, Amber Wilkinson, Carlos Heli de Almeida, Hugo Emmerzael, Godfrey Cheshire, Jon Asp, Cerise Howard, Bozidar Zecevic, Senem Erdine