Russia: Last News

The world premiere of ‘Wham!’ about the pop supergroup formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley is among the highlights of the 30th edition of the Sheffield DocFest, set for June 14-19 in north-central England.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Movie Film), two-times Cesar Award nominee Jean Reno (Leon), Ty Simpkins (Jurassic World) and Connie Nielsen (Gladiator) are attached to star in action movie Birdseye, which The Exchange will be launching for international sales ahead of the Cannes market.

Princess Diana’s stunning necklace that she wore on her last official engagement before her death is being put up for sale. The late Princess of Wales famously wore the diamond and pearl necklace at the gala evening for Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall in June 1997.

Before a note is song of their Eurovision entry, Ukraine has already won cultutral accolades in Greater Manchester today. Two Ukrainian Catholic Churches in Salford and Oldham have been granted Grade II listed status.

pre-recorded video aired at the 67th Eurovision song contest semi-finals on Tuesday evening. In the clip, where they both appear for just a few seconds, Queen Camilla, dressed in a royal blue coat dress, is first seen peering over someone with a clipboard completing a checklist before Eurovision 2023 kicks off.The camera then pans to King Charles, who is standing next to her, wearing a navy blue suit jacket and royal blue patterned tie.

Passed in 2022, the law is an expansion of a 2013 law prohibiting the dissemination of LGBTQ content in media or in places where such content may be viewed by children, especially with respect to portraying “non-traditional sexual relationships” as normal. Suspected violations can result in fines of up to 400,000 rubles for individuals and up to 5 million rubles for organizations, such as media outlets, that are merely accused of disseminating pro-LGBTQ “propaganda” — regardless of whether they actually did.According to Radio Svoboda, Russian government guardianship authorities brought a complaint against Dvorkin, the head of the Center T assistance group for transgender and nonbinary people and who is raising a foster child, in March for posts on his Telegram social media channel in which he mentioned living with a partner.According to the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which has frequently clashed with Russia’s Putin-led government, Dvorkin was flagged for commenting on a statement by Vitaly Milonov, a member of parliament who became infamous a few years ago for hosting a reality TV show focused around the idea of “outing” a gay man living among straight men in a house.Milonov, who has a history of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, reportedly claimed that all people who had left Russia voluntarily should be labeled “active homosexuals.”Dvorkin allegedly responded, in one of the Telegram posts flagged by state authorities, that that must mean that only “passive homosexuals” remained in the country, lacking “their partners and sex.”During the trial, lawyers pointed out errors in the case and noted that screenshots of the offending posts had been cut off and taken out of context.The defense also demanded that the trial be halted

Guillaume Esmiol is gearing up for his first edition flying solo as the executive director of the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film, which kicks off in less than a week to run from May 16 to 24.

The Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals get underway on Tuesday night with many fans waiting in anticipation to see the acts' performances.

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest is almost upon us and the excitement is truly building.

EXCLUSIVE: Drag queen, comedian, actor and former RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio (aka Roy Haylock) has signed with CAA for representation.

RAVE UKraine.Rave UKraine took place at Liverpool’s Hangar 34 and at Kyiv’s HVLV. Each rave was live-streamed to one another making it possible for attendees in both cities to party alongside each other in a night of unity and solidarity with Ukraine.

Jennie Punter Hot Docs has wrapped its 30th anniversary edition, handing out its top cash prize and announcing the audience top picks after an 11-day festival, which presented 214 films from 72 countries at 308 live screenings at venues across Toronto. Philippe Falardeau’s “Lac-Mégantic—This Is Not an Accident” topped the overall audience poll to win the 2023 Hot Docs Audience Award. The four-part series from the Oscar-nominated director explores the causes of one of Canada’s worst rail disasters and what’s needed to prevent such accidents in the future. “Someone Lives Here,” by Zack Russell, won the Rogers Audience Awards for Best Canadian Documentary, which comes with Cdn. $50,000 cash, and also claimed the second-highest spot in the overall audience poll. The film also won the inaugural Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary, a jury-chosen prize, at the main awards ceremony held Saturday.

Jennie Punter Last year, during an online panel at Hot Docs film festival featuring Ukrainian documentary filmmakers who were staying in place, Oksana Karpovych told attendees how she’d gained knowledge working alongside foreign media crews covering the war, and was now applying that to her own creative documentary projects. This year, at the festival’s 30th anniversary edition, Karpovych attended the in-person Forum market event to pitch “Intercepted” — her observational doc exploring the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — which ended up winning the 2023 CMF-Hot Docs Canadian Pitch Prize. With Ukraine in the spotlight at Hot Docs this year, both audiences and industry attendees are getting wide exposure to the films and ideas of leading Ukrainian documentary creators. The timing of this programming is perfect, said Hot Docs programmer Myrocia Watamaniuk, not only for the obvious reason.

Former Eurovision champions Loreen and Kalush Orchestra have voiced their excitement ahead of the contest taking place in Liverpool this week.The city has been transformed for the international music competition, which the UK is hosting on behalf of Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. Outside the series of arena live shows, two weeks of mostly free events are taking place featuring concerts, art exhibitions, flash mobs and more. Swedish singer Loreen told the PA news agency she “loved” the UK and hailed it as a “creative hub”.

Pussy Riot, Alice Glass and Boys Noize have collaborated on a brand new song – watch the official video for ‘Chastity’ below.The track comes along with a video by Lil Internet and is a sugary hit of danceable synth-pop.Discussing the track in a statement, Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova said: “This song will put the patriarchy in a tiny cage and throw the key out.”Watch the video for ‘Chastity’ below.The new material follows Glass’ debut solo album, ‘PREY//IV’, which NME described as “a cathartic, horror-infused creative reclamation” for the former Crystal Castles singer.Last year, she shared a new song called ‘Lips Apart’ while midway through her ‘Trauma Bond’ tour of North America.That year, Glass also asked Machine Gun Kelly to apologise for what she described as “predatory behaviour towards underage girls”, stemming from comments that Kelly had made in old interviews.Tolokonnikova, meanwhile, has reportedly been identified on a list of Russian authorities’ “most wanted” criminal suspects.According to the Associated Press, Tolokonnikova – a founding member of the feminist punk group, which has long been controversial in their native Russia for their incitive protests against Vladimir Putin’s regime – was first spotted in the Russian Interior Ministry’s database of criminal targets in March. The revelation reportedly came via Russian news outlet Mediazona, which was co-founded by Tolokonnikova.It’s said that Tolokonnikova’s listing in the database shows her wanted for “criminal charges”, however these are not disclosed in any significant detail.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic A creeping black spot on a darkening globe suffers some degree of illumination — not voluntarily, of course — in “The Rise of Wagner.” Benoit Bringer’s documentary about the Russian private army of mercenaries relies on a mix of news reports, human rights experts and sometimes anonymous witnesses to expose Wagner Group’s shadowy involvement in various conflicts over the last decade. It’s a damning if necessarily rather fragmented view, since the organization remains cloaked in secrecy, its own government continuing to deny affiliation. Offering global political insights as well as lurid true-crime-type content, this Hot Docs premiere is well-suited to broadcast slots for serious-minded nonfiction.  

BreAnna Bell “Harry & Meghan” producer Neha Shastry has signed with CAA for representation. She continues to be represented by Ramo Law. An Indian-American director and producer, Shastry began her career at Vice News, where she produced its critically acclaimed coverage of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and the subsequent war in Eastern Ukraine. Her work has been recognized with an Emmy, a Dupont, and a Peabody. Shastry produced Stacey Abrams’ “All In: The Fight For Democracy,” which detailed the history and legacy of voter suppression in the U.S. The film was shortlisted for an Academy Award, and was named Best Documentary by the Hollywood Critics Association, African-American Film Critics Association, and Alliance of Women Film Journalists.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Monte-Carlo Television Festival has revealed the nominees for its Golden Nymph Awards. The festival will open June 16 with the world premiere of the first episode of “Harlan Coben’s Shelter.” Hollywood producer and writer Howard Gordon (“The X-Files,” “24,” “Homeland,” “Accused”) will receive the Honorary Golden Nymph Award, the festival’s highest accolade, bestowed on a professional for their contribution to the entertainment industry. In the Fiction competition are “Poker Face” (U.S.), starring Natasha Lyonne, “The Warrant: Breaker’s Law” (U.S.), “Ten Pound Poms” (U.K./Australia), “The Seed” (Germany, Norway, Czech Republic), “Chorus Girls” (Denmark), “Fence” (Japan), “Le Colosse aux pieds d’argile” (France), “Miró” (Spain) and “Trust No One” (Israel).

EXCLUSIVE: The PBS series POV today announced the lineup of films for its historic 36th season, a diverse slate highlighted by documentaries with Oscar pedigree. 

Sophia Scorziello editor Mammoth Lakes Film Festival has announced the lineup of its ninth installment, held in-person from May 24-28 at venues throughout the California mountain town. Notably, the opening and closing films will feature stories from transgender individuals around the world. “Two of the most compelling documentaries we came across this year happened to be transgender stories, highlighting characters living in circumstances that threaten their survival, and we are so thrilled to showcase ‘Queendom’ and ‘Kokomo City’ as our opening and closing spotlight films,” said Paul Sbrizzi, director of festival programming. Opening film “Queendom,” by Agniia Galdanova, is a window into the life of Gena, a transgender Russian performance artist, and the radical acts that put her life in danger. The closing film “Kokomo City” by D. Smith explores the lives of four Black transgender sex workers as they consider what their existence means within the Black community. Koko Da Doll, who was one of the documentary’s four subjects, was fatally shot in Atlanta last month.

Addie Morfoot Contributor “I of the Water,” one of 20 projects presented at Hot Docs’ marquee market event, the Forum, has won the First Look first prize of Can. $50,000 ($36,700), one of four pitch prizes announced Wednesday at the festival. Kimberlee Bassford’s “I of the Water” focuses on acclaimed Samoan writer Sia Figiel’s hidden past of sexual abuse and journey toward healing. The film is produced by Bassford, Marilyn McFadyen, Vilsoni Hereniko, Leanne K. Ferrer, Cheryl Hirasa, and Linda Goldstein Knowlton. The second First Look prize, worth Can. $15,000, was awarded to Kenya-Jade Pinto “The Sandbox,” a Canadian production with a vague tagline: “Your future is being written in the sand.” The doc is produced by Shasha Nakhai, Kenya-Jade Pinto, Jennifer Baichwal, and Rich Williamson.