Sochi to host Russian fest
In its eighth year, the fest is still better known by its early title, Kinotavr, rather than by its new one, the Russian Open Film Festival. Fest has had official international status for the past four years.
At a Moscow news conference April 7, organizers confirmed that Russian actor Oleg Yankovsky will continue as fest president, while jury chairman this year will be director Vladimir Khotinenko ("The Muslim"). The main organizer and driving force behind the fest remains the indefatigable Russian producer Mark Rudinshtein.
The main fest competition program will consist of 12 to 15 films from around the former Soviet Union, all released after June 15, 1996, with prizes awarded for best film, director actor and actress.
In the competish are new works by Dmitry Astrakhan and Alexei Balabanov, as well as Kira Muratova's "Three Stories," Vladimir Krasnopolsky and Valery Uskov's "Yermak." and Georgian helmer Georgy Khaindrava's "The Cemetery of Tears."
A range of parallel retro programs will include one dedicated to Russian arthouser Alexander Sokurov, as well as a program titled "The Premiere That Never Was," mainstream films of the 1960s and '70s that never earned wide release.
