MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. The US audiences must have a right to decide for themselves whether to see the Russian military drama "T-34" by Alexey Sidorov and to form their own opinion on the picture currently distributed in the US, the film’s producer Ruben Dishdishyan told TASS on Tuesday.
Earlier, TASS informed that the showing of the film was cancelled in the US city of San Francisco due to a radical reaction by a group of individuals who allegedly detected propagandistic content in the film. The showing was set to take place on February 21.
"I have a high opinion of the audience," the producer noted. "I think they must see the picture for themselves and form an opinion of what it is like, whether it is good or bad, whether they like it or not. To impose an opinion [on the audience] is rather strange." He added that "the US viewers are smart, they will figure out what’s what." Dishdishyan also thanked those who started the "cancellation wave" for free publicity.
At the same time, the producer stated that he is surprised by the reports of the film’s showings being sabotaged in the US. "What do politics have to do with it?" he asked. "We have shot a good adventure movie about the power of human spirit, friendship, heroism, love, will for victory, and faith in life. I think that our film is about universal human values that are understood in every part of the world, and there is nothing else there, no hidden meaning."
Dishdishyan added that over 70 countries have acquired the rights to distribute the film, including Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Japan, the US, the UK, Canada, Italy, Israel, Spain, France, Middle Eastern countries, and the Baltic states. Over 9 million viewers saw the film in Russia, the producer noted.
The T-34 film is a Russian military drama, which is currently the second top grossing film of all time in Russia. It is shown in several US theaters in Russian with English subtitles from February 17 to February 24.
Earlier, head of the company distributing the film on North American territory Alexander Belyakov told TASS that there were attempts to scare off owners of small independent movie theaters in Boston and San Francisco through sending complaints regarding Russian propaganda, however, the film went through a special commission in Canada, and no propagandistic content was found.
"We just want as many people as possible seeing different and the best Russian films, and the rest is a matter of taste." "Every person in the US has a right to choose, and the viewers can decide for themselves whether to watch the film or not," Belyakov stressed.