Christopher Vourlias Russia may have been cut off from much of the international film community, but here at Cannes, members of the country’s media business are quietly trying to line up deals.Nearly three months into the war in Ukraine, the leadership of the film festival has spent its opening week fielding questions about its stance on Russia.
Festival chief Thierry Frémaux, for instance, was grilled over the inclusion of competition title “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” a movie with financial ties to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
At the same time, Ukrainian filmmakers on the Croisette called for a total boycott of Russian film.Despite the festival’s public posturing — Cannes has decided to ban state delegations and any Russians with ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin while allowing individual filmmakers to attend — Russian buyers are meeting with top sales agents at the Marché du Film.
Their numbers are substantially down, but there’s no question that Putin’s Russia is open for business on the French Riviera. “All the sales companies, they are welcoming Russians,” said Armen Dishdishian, head of acquisitions at leading Russian distributor Central Partnership, which is owned by Gazprom-Media. “They know me.
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