The magical power of art: 'Russian Film Week' opens in New York

Second film festival "Russian Cinema Week" opened in New York on 6 December. Within seven days, viewers will see 18 films created by Russian authors, as well as get the opportunity to chat with directors and film actors who played major roles in them, writes TASS.

Collage: ForumDaily

The festival started with the comedy “Let's Get Divorced!”, which the American public greeted very kindly, and at the end the audience greeted director Anna Parmas and actress Anna Rytsareva with applause. Parmas said that she tried to show in her debut full-length film the story of a woman in whom it is easy to recognize a loved one, an acquaintance, or even herself.

“And I also wanted to tell these movies: never say never, anything can happen. Therefore, despite the fact that the film ends with a separation, we do not know what will happen in a year or two. We don’t know this,” the director noted.

Parmas admitted that the next film she is working on will also be comedy.

“I might have wanted to make a drama, a thriller or even a detective story, but I realized in time that you need to film what your soul is right now... However, never say never,” she added.

On the same day, the drama “Above the Sky” (2019) was shown to the guests of the festival, and actress Taisiya Vilkova, who played the main role in it, performed before the audience.

Over the next few days, New Yorkers have the opportunity to see such US premiere films as “Odessa” (2018), “Text” (2019), “Bull” (2019), “Lenin” (2019) and others. These films will be presented by actors Alexander Petrov, Boris Akopov, Rinal Mukhametov, Alexey Serebryakov, Alexey Guskov, Vladimir Khotinenko, Alexander Gorchilin.

In total, about 15 actors and directors who will present 18 paintings came from Russia to the United States to participate in the festival.

Infographic provided by festival organizers.

Craving for art cannot be exterminated

Actor Alexei Guskov during the festival expressed the opinion that over the past 20 years, Russian cinema has undergone great changes.

“Many of our directors receive prizes at international festivals, their films are released worldwide, during this time the face of Russian cinema has changed in a very good way, expanded its capabilities,” he said. “We began to make not only entertainment films, industrial paintings, but at the same time preserved what Russian cinema has always been famous for - films for the soul.”

Guskov also expressed the opinion that it is impossible to impose additional tasks, missions on art, especially to improve political relations.

“In no case can you assign any mission to the theater, cinema, or art - it will not correct or improve anything. And the point of festivals abroad is that a person always has a need to know others, a need for art. Of course, in primitive society, the first to be eaten was not the one who killed the mammoth, but the one who drew how he killed - the hunter is always more important. Art, as a non-core asset, is the first to be shed as ballast if something happens, but it returns immediately when the company gets back on its feet. The craving for this in a person cannot be eradicated,” the artist is sure.

Shamanism and magic

Alexey Guskov himself will be happy to watch the films of the film festival, including the comedy “Elephant” (2019), in which he played the main role. According to him, during the filming process it is quite difficult for an actor to understand whether the film will turn out to be a rated film or a failure.

“Only at the premiere do you understand what happened in the end. It happens that painful filming results in an interesting film, and beautiful, light, free and supposedly talented stories end up in average, boring action. Cinema always looks like shamanism, there is a little bit of magic in it, and it’s not the director. Every project is born and immediately either hits the mark while waiting for it, or not, becomes necessary and touches the hearts of people or leaves them indifferent,” says Alexey Guskov.

Among the children's and youth films that the festival organizers brought to New York are “The Snow Queen: Through the Looking Glass” (2019), “Oorfene Deuce Returns” (2019), “Three Heroes and the Heir to the Throne” (2019).

The festival takes place at three venues in the metropolis: the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, Lincoln Center and Symphony Space on Broadway. And it won't just be limited to New York. At the end of this film week, together with director Sergei Livnev and actor Alexei Serebryakov, who played the main role in the film “Van Gogh” (2018), the festival will go to present this film to residents of Boston (Massachusetts), Seattle (Washington), San Francisco ( California), Chicago (Illinois) and Denver (Colorado).

The Russian Film Week festival was held in New York for the first time in 2018.

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