The Russian film industry is taking part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Film Festival in India

From January 27 to 31, Mumbai will host the SCO Film Festival, organized by the Council of Heads of State of the SCO in partnership with the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Indian National Film Development Corporation. The festival is the first international event in 2023 where Russian cinema is widely represented.

ROSKINO, the Russian film promotion body, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, chose the films from Russia for the program. Seven Russian films were announced in different sections of the SCO Film Festival:

– “The Riot” (dir. Evgeny Grigoriev, 2021) – Competition;

– “Don’t bury me without Ivan” (dir. Lyubov Borisova, 2022) – Competition;

– “Land of Legends” (dir. Anton Megerdichev, 2022) – SCO Country Focus;

– “Mr. Knockout” (dir. Artem Mikhalkov, 2022) – SCO Country Focus;

– “100 Minutes” (dir. Gleb Panfilov, 2021) – Director Focus;

– “Detective Chirp and the Golden Beehive” (dir. Grigory Vozhakin, 2022) – Children Focus;

– “My Friend Tiger” (dir. Tatiana Kisileva, 2021) – Short Films section.

ROSKINO, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, will also organize a Russian pavilion, where filming locations in Russia and co-production opportunities will be presented to international representatives.

ROSKINO CEO Inna Shalyto: “Cinematic cooperation between SCO countries is developing. The Russian film industry is in close dialogue with SCO members, especially with the CIS countries (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan). Work on joint film production is being stepped up, educational initiatives are being developed. ROSKINO, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, has held the Russian Film Festival in almost all SCO countries over the past two years. The Russian industry first widely entered the Indian market in 2022, participating under the single brand Russian Content Worldwide (RCW) in the Film Bazaar content market. I am sure that the SCO Film Festival in Mumbai will be another important step towards expanding partnerships between Russian filmmakers and the film industries of SCO countries. The festival will also provide an opportunity to present Russia as a filming location and partner in coproduction.”

The Russian delegation to the SCO Film Festival will include director Lyubov Borisova and producer Ivan Bolotnikov (“Don’t Bury Me Without Ivan”); director Yevgeny Grigoriev and producer Olga Muravyova-Erofeeva (“The Riot”); director Artyom Mikhalkov (“Mr. Knockout“); and producer Maxim Panfilov (“100 Minutes“).

Films from India, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus are included in the festival, and in total more than 55 films will be shown.

In Mumbai, in November 2022, ROSKINO organized the Russian Film Festival. Nearly 1,300 people attended the free screenings. Indian audiences were presented with popular Russian films—the comedies “Son of a Rich” and “Young Man”, the family film “A Dog Named Palma”, the ballet drama “Bolshoi”, and the full-length cartoon “Fixies vs. Crabots”.