IN SHORT:
Film producers from Latvia learn about the festival taking place in Russia only after a call from LTV.
The festival is organized by the delegation of the European Union in Russia.
Organizers: The festival is not organized in cooperation with the official institutions of Russia.
Producer Matīss Kaža: As European producers, we should not allow our films to be screened in this terrorist country.
MEP Kalniete: It looks like a typical propaganda technique inherited from the USSR.
At the request of the producers, both the film “Olegs” and “Imada’s childhood” have been removed from the planned festival program.
Film producers find out about the festival after a call from LTV
The producers of the films “Oļegs” and “Imada’s Childhood” learned about the “European Film Festival” taking place in Russia only after a call from Latvian Television.
This has caused a lot of indignation and questions – why is such a film festival being created in Russia and why the authors have not been asked for permission?
The film “Oļegs” is a co-production of Latvia, Lithuania and Belgium. The producer of the film, Alice Gëlze, says that she contacted the distributors of the film, who are located in Brussels. Russia has not been in the lists of festivals sent to them in the last six months.
This event is organized by the organization with the same name – “European Film Festival”. Gëlze states: “They have sold to this organization the right to distribute the film in the network of these festivals. That is, they have access to the film catalog and in every country this “European film festival” is organized, the slogans of which resonated with the basic conditions of this organization.”
The producer has also contacted a colleague from Lithuania, who also learned about the festival and the screening of her film from those around her. “She has even been informed about this festival, she had in-depth discussions with this “European Film Festival” organization. And what I found out is that it is a soft propaganda campaign from the European Union in Russia. I was not informed about that,” Gëlze emphasizes. .
The film “Imada’s childhood” is a co-production between Sweden and Latvia. It is the Swedish producer who is responsible for the contract with the sales agent.
The film’s producer, Matīss Kaža, admits: “In my practice, this is the first such case. A film with which I am associated was offered for screening in a terrorist country, without my knowledge. If I had known, I would have said that we do not accept it.
I think that the question here is about the understanding of the western distribution companies and the so-called sales agents about the current geopolitical situation.”
Matīss Kaža says that he himself contacted the film’s sales agent with a request to remove the film from the repertoire: “To which they answered me with explanations that this festival is financed with the funds of the European Union and that it is a project of the European Union and has nothing to do with it with Putin’s regime. But I think at this time it doesn’t matter whether there is a direct connection or not. We should not, as European producers, allow our films to be shown in this terrorist country.
The festival is organized by the delegation of the European Union in Russia
The slogan of this festival is “Cinema unites!”. LTV contacted the contacts from the European Union delegation in Russia listed on the website and they confirmed that they are indeed organizing the festival. “The film festival is not organized in cooperation with the official institutions of Russia. The festival is a tool to popularize European values, culture, thought and freedom of expression. It also allows more effective exposure of Russian propaganda against the European Union.”
The ambassador is also quoted on the website of the film festival: “Russian culture is part of European cultural heritage. Russian history and art have long fascinated and inspired the world. Welcome to the European Film Festival in Russia, where cinema unites!”
LTV contacted European Parliament member Sandra Kalnieti (“Jaunā Vienotība”). She also found out about the festival only at the beginning of the week: “To me, it looks more like a typical propaganda technique inherited from the USSR, how with such clever cultural communication activities the illusion is created that relations are normal or normalizing.
And I also have great doubts that the ambassador of the European Union would allow something like that to be held. But in any case – really, if it is his responsibility, then it should be clarified. If so, then he must answer for it.”
The National Cinema Center also says that they no longer maintain relations with Russia and Belarus. “We recommend films by meeting, for example, with festival programmers at markets and various other industry events, and we try to recommend showing films in the focus of Baltic films and in the focus of Latvian films, which is not just one film in the festival, but a set of films representing not a country, but an entire region,” explains Agnese Zapāne, coordinator of international festivals of the National Cinema Center, emphasizing: “Currently, relations with Russia and Belarus have been terminated.”
Currently, at the request of the producers, both the film “Olegs” and “Imada’s childhood” have been removed from the planned festival program.
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2023-11-01 18:22:44
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