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Russian and Soviet Film Festival opens in Japan

On the opening day the audience will see the movie "Anna Karenina. Vronsky’s story" (2017) by Karen Shakhnazarov
"Alexander Nevsky" by Sergei Eisenstein Natalya Kolesnikova/TASS
"Alexander Nevsky" by Sergei Eisenstein
© Natalya Kolesnikova/TASS

TOKYO, July 10. /TASS/. Visitors of the Russian and Soviet Film Festival, which opened in the Japanese capital on Tuesday, will be able to see more than 20 various films. The film festival is held as part of the cross-culture years - the Year of Russia in Japan and the Year of Japan in Russia - the organizers reported.

"Ties in the sphere of culture and especially in the sphere of cinema art have always united our nations and have always been an important area of benevolent mutual interest in all times, in the long decades of the existence of Soviet-Japanese and Russian-Japanese relations. So, I’m sincerely glad that our Japanese friends will have the chance to see the wonderful films created by our outstanding filmmakers in the coming days," Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin said at the opening ceremony.

Filmmaker Alexei Uchitel noted that, in his opinion, "the films that were made long ago will help understand the inner state of Russian and Soviet man and will lead to a deeper understanding between the nations of Russia and Japan."

On the opening day the audience will see the movie "Anna Karenina. Vronsky’s story" (2017) by Karen Shakhnazarov, which centers around the events of the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war.

The program of the festival, which will run until early August, mostly contains Soviet-period films, such as "The Youth of Maxim" (1934) and "The Return of Maxim" (1937) from a revolutionary trilogy; "Alexander Nevsky" (1938) directed by Sergei Eisenstein; "The Ballad of a Soldier" (1959); and "Five Evenings" (1979) by Nikita Mikhalkov. The audience will also see more recent films like "Scarecrow" (1983) and "Intergirl" (1989). Apart from "Anna Karenina. Vronsky’s Story," the modern Russian cinematography will be represented by Alexei Uchitel’s film "Matilda" (2017).

Following a meeting in April 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared that Russia and Japan would hold a year of bilateral cultural exchange in 2018. About 120 political, economic and cultural events are to take place this year. In particular, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts will display an exposition of works from the Edo period (1603-1868 - TASS) from Japan’s museums this fall. The Kabuki theater, which rarely leaves its country, will also hold a tour in Russia in September.