Russia's international political face is not reflected in a Russo-German co-production treaty nearing finalization, industry chiefs from the two countries said Sunday.
The treaty -- which will ease customs procedures and cross-border financial transactions as well as harmonize rules on territorial requirements for accessing state film funds -- is moving slowly through mutually bureaucratic legal small print in Berlin and Moscow but will be completed this year, Alexander Golutva, deputy head of Russia's federal agency for culture and cinematography, said.
"The treaty will happen this year, but the Russian ministry of foreign affairs and its German counterpart need to ensure the wording agree with both their standard legal terms for such treaties," Golutva said at a Berlin meeting of producers and film fund chiefs from the two countries.
Russian president Vladimir Putin's tough foreign policy -- including cutting off gas to neighbor states during disputes, saber-rattling over plans for U.S. missile bases in Poland and a spat with Britain over the killing of ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko -- has not hindered the deal, already in the works for more than a year.
"The treaty very much depends on input from producers from both sides. Our aim is to provide the legal and judicial opportunities for their cooperation," Golutva said.
Peter Dinges, head of German federal film board FFA, said the treaty would give a boost to ties between the film industry in both countries and would ease many of the practical problems cross-border productions face.
Although it provides no new money, the treaty will encourage Russian and German producers to apply for grants worth up to 20% of a production budget from Germany's new DFFF film fund.
The fund launched a year ago and has already pumped money into 99 projects, many of them U.S. and European co-productions, including the Wachowski brothers' "Speed Racer."
"We are at the beginning of our relationship and must get to know each other better. There is still a long way to go. Developing trust and good personal links are very important," Dinges said.
Manfred Schmidt, head of German regional film fund MDM (Mitteldeutsche Medienforderung), said interest in German-Russian co-productions was growing.
"It is a continuous process -- this is the second Berlin co-production meeting we have held with the Russians, and we need to have more smaller meetings during the year."
Asked whether the treaty might help facilitate films critical of Putin's regime, Golutva said Russia needed more sharp films.
"All films are open to apply under the treaty. In fact, what Russia needs today are more features and documentary films that deal with different and controversial issues," Golutva said.
His comments came just as Swiss producer-director Eric Bergkraut was preparing a Berlin festival fringe screening of his documentary "Letter to Anna," about the campaigning Russian reporter Anna Polikovskaya, who was gunned down in the lobby of her Moscow apartment by an unknown assassin in October 2006.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com