MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Russian premiere for Matilda, directed by Alexey Uchitel, has been rescheduled from October 6 to October 23 and will be held, as planned, at the Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, the film director told TASS on Monday.
"We are moving the premiere for October 23," Alexey Uchitel said, adding that the film will be officially released on October 26 in Russia and they "just didn’t want to make a long break between the premier and the official release." "The Moscow premiere will be held in the ‘October’ cinema center on October 24," the film director added.
After the first showing, Uchitel will take the movie on a European tour, where it will also be screened. In particular, Matilda will be shown in Germany on October 27.
The history drama tells a controversial story of the private life of Russia’s last Emperor Nicholas II and his family. German actor Lars Eidinger stars as Nicholas II and Polish actress Michalina Olszanska as ballerina Matilda Kschessinskaya. Lithuanian actress Ingeborga Dapkunaite and Russian actors Yevgeny Mironov, Sergey Garmash, Danila Kozlovsky and Grigory Dobrygin are other cast members.
The scandal concerning the film was fueled by a dispute between filmmaker Alexey Uchitel and State Duma member Natalya Poklonskaya and has lasted several months. Natalya Poklonskaya is the film’s firm opponent, determined to prevent its release. She argues that it is an insult to the memory of Nicholas II and the feeling of believers. Poklonskaya already addressed the Prosecutor-General’s Office with a query and a negative conclusion by experts. She said the critics had examined the film’s trailers and the full text of the film’s script.
Uchitel dismissed attempts to influence the artistic process and the film’s future as impermissible. Lawyer for Uchitel Konstantin Dobrynini appealed against Poklonskaya in the State Duma’s Ethics Committee. The motion has not been responded yet.