"White Elephant" defends the right to exist and announces short list

MOSCOW. The nominees for the White Elephant, one of the main arthouse awards in Russia, became known.

25 years ago, the Golden Aries was established, which was conceived as an analogue of the Golden Globe. The American Prize is awarded based on surveys in which several dozen Hollywood journalists participate. The fate of the Russian film awards was ruled by domestic pen sharks. As a result of simple mutations, Aries turned into White elephants. Cute eared figurines are awarded for innovative and talented films in the field of auteur cinema.

In recent years, the prize has to fight for survival. Attempts to make it less independent, the denial of funding from the Ministry of Culture do not add confidence in the future. The result of a recent discussion about the prospects for the emergence of a new film award and the fate of the Elephant was an online referendum. His results reflected the almost complete unanimity regarding the possibility of peaceful coexistence of both film awards, focused on different genres and not irreconcilable competitors.

Critics and film critics hope to continue the story of an unbiased award, allowing to note honest, non-opportunistic paintings. And also the fact that the new award of film presses, announced by the Union of Cinematographers, will not be the cuckoo that will push the White Elephant out of its nest.

The short list includes films with undeniable artistic merits and which became an undoubted event in the past year. Which did not exclude the discussions and disputes that accompany the appearance of a real work of art. The nominees included such vivid film works as “Dear Hans, dear Peter” Mindadze, “Angels of the Revolution” Fedorchenko, “Under the Electric Clouds” by German. In addition to films, the best acting will be noted, the names of the best directors, cameramen, screenwriters will become known. Among them are Renata Litvinova, Inna Churikova, Chulpan Khamatova, Yuri Arabov, Alexander Mindadze, Anna Melikyan.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru