All news

Ukrainian movie releasers say will not run number of Russian movies

“One of the leading Ukrainian movie distributors has just informed its partners in Russia it won’t release in May a total of three Russian movies,” report says
A shot of ‘The Eight’ film directed by Alexei Uchitel ITAR-TASS/Ruslan Shamukov
A shot of ‘The Eight’ film directed by Alexei Uchitel
© ITAR-TASS/Ruslan Shamukov

MOSCOW, April 08. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian film releasers and movie houses are giving up the release of a number of Russian movies, the Moscow-based Central Partnership company said in a press release Tuesday.

“For instance, one of the leading Ukrainian movie distributors, InterFilm, has just informed its partners in Russia it won’t release in May a total of three Russian movies, arrangements on which have already been made,” the report said.

“Ukrainian spectators won’t see a drama ‘The Eight’, and action ’22 Minutes’, and a comedy ‘A Kitchen in Paris’,” the company said. “InterFilm’s Director General Artyom Golovashkin said in an official letter ‘The Eight’ by director Alexei Uchitel was blacklisted because it depicted the life of servicemen of Russia’s Omon riot police unit while the ’22 Minutes’ showed Russian commercial seamen and military waging a combat on Somali pirates.”

As for ‘A Kitchen in Paris’ it fell into disgrace with the Ukrainian movie distributors because one of its protagonists is a President of the Russian Federation.

“We’re very frustrated by the current situation, as Ukrainian spectators will most likely be unable to watch the movies that would certainly have a great success with the audiences there,” Central International said in the statement. “It is really a great pity that geopolitical issues have such a big influence on our everyday life.”

Russian movies account for about 10% of all the box office receipts and the best result for a Russian film in Ukraine was $ 2.5 million to $ 3 million.