Russian Film Festival 2024 to be held in China

From August 5 to 11, ROSKINO, a Russian film promotion body, will hold a large-scale «Russian Film Festival China 2024» / «2024俄罗斯电影展» in three cities of China: Beijing, Nanjing and Shenzhen. The festival is organized jointly with the China Film Archive with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the China Film Administration. The event is timed to coincide with the 17th meeting of the Subcommittee on Cooperation in the Field of Cinematography of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation, which will be held in Beijing on August 5.

As part of the Russian Film Festival, Chinese viewers will see the sci- fi blockbuster Guest from the Future; the Yakut drama Where The White Cranes Dance; the comedy Off the Rails, the adventure drama Lord of the Wind about the world-famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov, drama Light, the full-length animated films Detective Chirp & The Golden Beehive and My Sweet Monster.

The delegation of Russian filmmakers will come to China: the films will be presented by director Mikhail Lukachevskiy (Where The White Cranes Dance), director Anton Maslov (Off the Rails), director Anton Kolomeets (Light), executive producer Georgy Gitis (My Sweet Monster), and the Head of International Sales Department of Central Partnership Nikolay Zlatopolsky (Guest from the Future, Lord of the Wind).

The 17th meeting of the Subcommittee on Cooperation in the Field of Cinematography of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation will be attended by Director of the Department of Cinematography and Digital Development of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Dmitry Davidenko; Deputy Director of the Department of Museums and External Affairs of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Anton Kuznetsov; CEO of ROSKINO Elsa Antonova; CEO of Gosfilmofond of Russia Denis Aksenov; Executive Director of the Russian Animated Film Association Irina Mastusova and other representatives of the Russian film industry.

The festival will open at the Art Cinema in Beijing on August 5. The opening film is Where the White Cranes Dance by Mikhail Lukachevsky. This movie won the Grand Prix of the VIII Arctic International Film Festival “Golden Crow” and a special jury prize. The film was also recognized as the best feature film at the VII Yakut International Film Festival, and the lead actor Misha Sleptsov was awarded a jury diploma for his great acting potential.

Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Olga Lyubimova: “The Russian Film Festival in China is being held as part of the Russia-China Years of Culture in 2024-2025, and it is especially important in the context of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. We are happy to show new Russian films to Chinese audiences. Over the past two years, Russian film production has been flourishing, with more and more box-office hits appearing. The festival is also timed to coincide with the Subcommission on Cooperation in the Field of Cinematography of the Russian-Chinese Commission on Humanitarian Cooperation. We will discuss cooperation in all areas, including co-production. Currently, the Russian and Chinese sides are taking active steps towards joint film production, and there are already such projects in progress. Russian regions, in particular the Far East, are also increasing their co-production potential.”

Elza Antonova, CEO of ROSKINO: “Chinese audiences have always been interested in Soviet, and then Russian, cinema. In the Soviet years, many films were shown in China, and interaction was carried out through Sovexportfilm (the predecessor of ROSKINO). Our company has been organizing Russian film festivals in China since 2021, both online and offline. This year, we diversified the program adding more animated films. Since last year, we have also been hosting China film festivals in Russia: we are currently finalizing the dates for the next event, it is scheduled for the fall. Moreover, we are expanding cooperation with major Chinese film festivals: we have offered Russian films to the Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIFF), the Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF), the Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) and the China International Cartoon and Animation Festival (CICAF).”

In 2023, ROSKINO organized a series of events in China: out-of-competition screenings as part of the 13th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), an online Russian film festival on one of the largest Chinese platforms Youku, as well as offline festival in three cities in China: Beijing, Heihe and Suzhou.

Russian Film Festival China 2024″ / “2024俄罗斯电影展” animation program:

«Detective Chirp & The Golden Beehive», 2022
Director: Grigoriy Vozhakin
Residents of Honey Valley are preparing for their favorite holiday – City Day, when all citizens have the opportunity to admire a unique artifact – the Golden Beehive. According to legend, it was found by the founders of Honey Valley, and legend has it that thousands of misfortunes will befall the town if the Hive disappears. On the eve of the holiday, the Hive was stolen. Blame it on the squirrel Chink, assistant owl detective Sofi. Chink and his friends will have to unravel the case, find a real crook and return not only the Golden Hive, but also peace to the Valley.

«My Sweet Monster», 2021
Director: Victor Glukhushin, Maksim Volkov
King is unable to believe the fact that his beloved child, Princess Barbara, is all grown up. He still tries to watch over the Princess, but the 16-year-old Barbara throws a tantrum at her birthday party. While everybody is distracted, the throne is seized by a sneaky post clerk Weasel. However, unsatisfied with being the sole ruler of the Kingdom, he also plans to marry Barbara. Princess Barbara runs away from the palace and finds herself deep in the woods. She bumps into Boogey the Outlaw and his friend the Wicked Rabbit. Barbara’s interference wreaks havoc into the ordinary bachelor-style life of the two friends. Barbara meddles into everything, arranges her own set of rules, and keeps getting on their nerves with her assumptions about Prince Edward. She imagines how Prince Edward defeats the impostor, reinstates the King, and proposes to Barbara. Just like the books says. To get rid of Barbara, Boogey decides to go as far as to find the Prince Edward, stop the Weasel and restore the order in Kingdom.