About 7 thousand Indians watched Russian films in the framework of the forum "Days of Russian Cinema"

From November 15 to 18, the second international film forum Days of Russian Cinema was held in the capital of Bollywood, the city of Mumbai. During the festival, Russian paintings presented by the organizers - the production company Sinemarus with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Union of Cinematographers of Russia and the filmmakers - were watched by about 7 thousand Indian viewers - several thousand more than last year.

Within the framework of the forum, the latest domestic films of various genres were shown, which made it possible to get an idea of modern Russian cinema from both the artistic and commercial sides: “Best Day”, “Queen of Spades”, “Hammer”, “Good Boy”, "Friday" and others.

Russian filmmakers came to India to talk about Russian cinema: producers Igor Tolstunov, Vasily Solovyov, Alexey Petrukhin, actors Ekaterina Shpitsa, Elena Zakharova, Ieva Andreevayte, Olga Filimonova, Alexander Pal, Sergey Chirkov, who were pleasantly impressed by Indian culture and communication with Indian colleagues.

Thanks to the forum, relations between Russian and Indian film markets continued to develop. So, Russian filmmakers intend to shoot five films a year with India a year, a Chechen director and producer Beslan Terekbaev is preparing the first Russian-Indian film Best Friends in 25 years, and an agreement has been reached with the largest Indian film star Shahrukh Khan - he will take part in the work on the film "Viy-3".

The start of the cinema days was given only in the opening of the legendary Royal Opera House after the restoration by the Consul General of the Russian Federation in Mumbai Andrei Zhiltsov and the head of the Russian delegation, adviser to the staff of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation Maria Lemesheva, who later noted: “Days of Russian cinema in Mumbai become a traditional event - and with every year there are more and more viewers. This year we brought the most vivid pictures that have just appeared on domestic screens. The purpose of our forum is to help establish close ties between the film industries of the two countries - both among viewers and among the filmmakers. Summing up, I can proudly say that we have coped with the task and will only improve the indicators next year. ”

In addition to film screenings, a business program was held during the forum, a round table discussion “New Prospects for Cinema Cooperation between Russia and India”, as well as visits to Bollywood studios and social events took place.

The venue of the festival was not chosen by chance. Mumbai is the recognized capital of the Indian film industry and one of the country’s most important economic and cultural centers. The days of Russian cinema in this metropolis will contribute to the development of new ties with the creative and economic elite of the country, the strengthening of cooperation in the film industry, as well as the expansion of cultural exchange and the formation, in the language of cinema, of a positive image of Russia as a strategic partner of India. The first forum, Days of Russian Cinema, held in 2015, was noted in a joint statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adopted at the BRICS Summit. Given the successful experience of last year and the direction of international politics in Russia, the scale of the second festival in a row has become much wider.