All news

Russian art festival kicks off its 21st season in Cannes

The festival will open on August 23 at the Claude Debussy Theater with the performance of the Tatarstan State Song and Dance Ensemble, who have successfully performed in Cannes since 2009

CANNES / France /, 23 August. / Russian art festival opens its doors in Cannes, and the event is slated to run until August 27, the festival’s press service told TASS on Thursday. The five-day program consist of concerts, performances, film screenings, and exhibitions.

Organizational efforts for what has been called the "largest Russian art project in France" were shared by the Russian Ministry of Culture and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Center for Film Festivals and International Programs, and the Republic of Tatarstan, with the Canne’s Mayor’s Office and the Palace of Festivals and Congresses on the French side chipping in, a spokesperson for the event said.

The festival will open on August 23 at the Claude Debussy Theater with the performance of the Tatarstan State Song and Dance Ensemble, who have successfully performed in Cannes since 2009.

The second day of the festival falls on the anniversary of Cannes’ liberation by the Allied Forces, which is to be marked by a veterans’ parade. The festival will hold a Russian Night Gala concert for all guests and residents. According to the festival press service, the Russian Night draws more and more culture aficionados every year. The highlight of the concert is the award ceremony: "For outstanding contribution to the strengthening of cultural ties between Russia and France." In previous years, Pierre Cardin, Marina Vladi, Mireille Mathieu, Charles Aznavour, Patricia Kaas and others, received the award.

This year the award will be presented to Masha Meril (Maria Gagarina), French actress, producer and writer.

The festival has a rich film program. Each work will be introduced by the directors and actors. Among them is Valeriy Todorovskiy’s Bolshoi, Ivan Shakhnazarov’s Rock, and Vladimir Tumayev’s White Moss.

The final two days of the festival have been set aside for ballet. Artists from the Natalia Sats Children’s Musical Theater will hold a performance in honor of the great French choreographer Marius Petipa, whose name is inextricably tied with the Russian ballet school.

The Sats Theater artists will also wrap up the festival on August 27, with the restored ballets of the famous Diaghilev's Russian Seasons, showcasing Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade, Chopin’s Chopiniana and Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances.