European Producers Club Calls On Film Community To Unite Against “Disgraceful” Russian Jail Sentence For Alexander Rodnyansky
deadline.comThe European Producers Club (EPC) has voiced its support for Ukrainian producer Alexander Rodnyansky, after a Russian court sentenced him in absentia last week to eight-and-a-half years in prison.
The sentence was related to charges of spreading fake news about Russia’s war in Ukraine, after the producer posted on social media against Russian missile attacks on a maternity hospital in Mariupol and andother civilian targets in Kyiv, Dnieper and Zaporozhye in the early days of the 2022 invasion.
Paris-based body EPC – which gathers 160 top independent producers in Europe including Rodnyansky – said its members were “deeply troubled” by the sentence. “Alexander embodies the very essence of what it means to be an independent producer: a champion of creative diversity and an advocate for art as a platform to explore differing perspectives on society.
The harshness of the sentence imposed upon him underscores the importance of his role in this capacity,” it said in a statement.
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