Russian civil war heats up
Filmmakers call for boycott of union meeting
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December's election of Soviet-era director Marlen Khutsiev was declared illegal on procedural grounds by the country's justice ministry in early February following protests from members close to the former union head, director Nikita Mikhalkov.
Mikhalkov, a prominent industry figure who heads the Moscow Film Festival and counts Prime Minister Vladimir Putin among his friends, has called for an election rerun at a union session on April 1 open to all members rather than just the delegates who were present in December.
His opponents are urging members to boycott the April session at Moscow's downtown House of Cinema. They say Mikhalkov wields too much influence and does not represent the broad interests of filmmakers. Some 38 out of 50 union board members back the boycott, according to official Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
Khutsiev also is against the April election, because that "would recognize that the December congress was illegitimate." His opinion is backed by Viktor Matizen, prexy of the guild of Russian film critics, who wants to start a petition against it.
At risk is the very future of the union, the boycotters say.
"Mikhalkov has repeatedly declared that his aim is to create one uniform film academy and the union is not a necessary part of that," director Igor Maslennikov told RIA Novosti.
Russia has two rival bodies that run separate national awards: the Mikhalkov-founded Golden Eagles for film and TV (modeled on the Golden Globes) and the Nikas, established in 1987 by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences.
