MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. Film director Alexey Uchitel has denied information about 100,000 signatures against his film Matilda during his speech at Tuesday’s TASS press conference ahead of the Moscow premier performance.

"Negative powers are much exaggerated. No 100,000 signatures [against Matilda - TASS] exist. We have checked it, and it’s untrue. A few thousand, perhaps, but 140 mln people are living in our country, aren’t they?" Uchitel said.

That said, Uchitel noted that, as he thought, "a discussion will start after the film is released." "People are talking about it with such confidence as if they watched this film 10 times. But they haven’t," the filmmaker reiterated.

Asked why he decided to screen a movie about a romance between future tsar Nicholas and ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya, Uchitel answered that he did not "set to a love affair." He believes that "this love story greatly influenced our country’s fate."

The scandal regarding Matilda was sparked following a dispute between Uchitel and State Duma member Natalya Poklonskaya. The MP wanted the film not to have a general release, because, in her opinion, it insults the memory of Tsar Nicholas II and the feelings of religious believers. The film director called unacceptable Poklonskaya’s attempts to influence the creative process and the release future of the film, which is to be screened on October 26.