The Russian Film Festival returns to London this year with a great programme showcasing the latest award-winning Russian films. New Russian cinema has been commended right across the board at the world's most prestigious international film festivals. Now we are delighted to present at the Apollo Piccadilly a panorama of the best Russian films introduced by the creators themselves. All films are shown with English subtitles.

The main festival programme features this year's ten best Russian films, all acclaimed at major international and Russian film festivals. These films include the controversial 'One War' by Vera Glagoleva, a moving relook at crime and punishment during the Second World War, Russia's nomination for the Oscars as well as Grand Prix winner at Sofia International Film Festival, and Svetlana Proscurina's latest thought provoking film 'The Truce', an unsettling portrayal of provincial Russia laced with humour and lyricism which won Russia's Kinotavr's main prize. Also amongst the main programme's feature films are the applauded ‘Another Sky', by Dmitry Mamulya, ‘Gastarbeiter' by Yusup Razykov and ‘Reverse Motion' by Andrey Stempkovsky, which by focusing on the theme of Central Asian workers give rise to a lasting impression of ordinary people caught between conflicts and struggling to communicate.

This year's documentary programme encapsulates the last decade in Russia, offering a window into the real Russia, with screenings of the ten finest Russian documentary films, one for each year. This definitive selection is presented by the great director and documentary maker, Vitaly Mansky, president of Russia's ArtDocFest.

In addition to the main programme and documentaries, the Russian Film Festival is showing a comprehensive and diverse programme of animation ready to enchant adults and children alike with its charm and imagination. Among the feature length animations, the festival is proud to include the captivating ‘Little Tragedies', based on Alexander Pushkin's verses and master animator Garri Bardin's ‘The Ugly Duckling', a children's stop-motion animated film with Orwellian overtones deemed so politically subversive it was banned from showing on Russian television.  

Over the course of four years the Russian Film Festival has become a calendar event not only for film lovers but also for industry members. The festival is now an important platform in London for professional communication between Russian and British filmmakers, thanks to the series of industry talks and roundtables organised alongside the screenings.

The Russian Film Festival is organised with the support of the Russian Embassy.

We look forward to seeing you at the festival!

More Information

You will find regular updates and background information for the festival on our website: http://www.academia-rossica.org/. You can also find press accreditation forms there too.

Images and video clips

If you would like a CD with low-res images from all the main films, please contact press@academia-rossica.org. High-res images are available to download on our website. We can also supply audio and video clips from many of the films. Please do get in touch for any other information or requests.

Venue

Apollo West End Cinema, 19 Regent Street, St James's, London SW1Y 4LR, info and tickets: 0871 220 6000; http://www.apollocinemas.co.uk/