Actualités

An open letter against the war in Ukraine has been signed by prominent Russian cinematographers, spearheaded by Fedor Lyass (“Hardcore Henry”).

The signatories include Roman Vasyanov, Mikhail Krichman, Pavel Kapinos (“Hardcore Henry”), Vladislav Opelyants and Pavel Fomintsev (“Unclenching the Fists”).

Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine began on Feb. 24, Russian filmmakers and animators have bravely rallied and spoken out against their government’s actions and have called upon the international community for support. In doing so, the signatories have put themselves at risk on both personal and professional levels. Alexander Rodnyansky, the two-time Oscar-nominated producer of “Leviathan,” “Loveless” told Variety last week that he felt “unbearably ashamed” and “incredibly, deeply sad” when news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine broke.

The letter’s full translated text and list of the signatories are below:

We, Russian cinematographers, demand a stop to military aggression against Ukraine, an immediate ceasefire, and a withdrawal...

MOSCOW -- Russia's only government wholly government-owned educational channel, Radio Television Russia, will stop drawing on state funds beginning next year and instead rely totally on income from its commercial projects. RTR general director Anton Zlatopolskii said Monday the move will give the channel greater freedom to pursue projects -- such as purchasing the rights to international sporting events -- without official oversight. Currently RTR, known in Russia as the "second channel," relies on state funding for just 7% of its budget, with the balance generated through advertising and sponsorship. Full financial independence would enable the channel to be more responsive to viewers' needs and free up management time from government bureaucracy, RTR spokesman Andrei Ivanov said.