Russians ready for co-prods
Khlebnikov, Popogrebsky both have fest pix on horizon
Following worldwide critical success of 2003's "Roads to Koktebel," pic's directors Boris Khlebnikov and Alexei Popogrebsky have amicably parted company and completed their second features.
Khlebnikov's "Free Floating" screens in the Venice Horizons program this month, while Popogrebsky's "Simple Things" looks set for an international fest bow early next year, most likely at Rotterdam, given that that event's Hubert Bals fund supported the project.
That's had 31-year-old Borisevich upping his ambitions: "Koktebel" was made on a shoestring $500,000. Now he's set up a new outfit, Koktebel Films.
Prices have gone up as well, Borisevich says, with both new pics just topping the $1 million mark, and he expects budgets to rise to around $1.5 million-$2 million in future years.
So far, Russian state coin can provide up to half that figure, allowing the producer to go on working with often unknown actors, though "Simple Things" has veteran star Leonid Bronevoi in a lead role.
Remainder is made up from income from Borisevich's own video distrib outfit Cinemax, as well as from foreign sales -- "Koktebel" is repped by France's prestigious Celluloid Dreams. It also makes Koktebel Films a player with real interest in Euro co-prod opportunities, something of an exception in today's Russian industry.
Aiming for an annual slate of three or four pics, Borisevich continues to support debuts, with two projects in development, one by Sergei Luchishin, whose short "Portrait" won the 2001 Cannes Cinefondation award.
Domestic B.O. results aren't stellar, he admits, though TV interest from major channels is strong. The two "Koktebel" helmers have stuck to the naturalism of that work in their new pics, which "straddles the arthouse," according to the producer. "Free Floating" will go out on around 10 prints in November. He says a gradual release can end up being just as profitable as a wide release that requires far more P&A.
