Christopher Vourlias Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, whose feature debut “Pamfir” premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section, and director and former political prisoner Oleh Sentsov (“Rhino”) are among the Ukrainian filmmakers who say they’re “distraught” by the inclusion of a Russian film in the main competition at the Transilvania Film Festival.In a statement posted on Monday to the Facebook page for “Pamfir,” the filmmakers spoke out against the selection of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s “The Execution” as one of 12 features competing for the Transilvania Trophy, criticizing the “illusion of cultural reconciliation” created by the festival’s decision and insisting that “art does not exist outside of politics.” The filmmakers noted that Kvataniya’s psychological thriller was produced with the support of the state-backed Russian Film Fund as well as Kinoprime, the $100 million film fund bankrolled by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the U.K.
and Europe.“This film was strongly connected [to] and supported by the Russian government not only before the war, but after the start of the war, and should be considered as a sanctioned cultural product that was produced and distributed by Russia,” said the filmmakers.The statement also renewed calls for a boycott of Russian films and called on cultural institutions to “suspend any cooperation with people and institutions directly or indirectly supported by the Russian government.”In a response shared with Variety, Transilvania Film Festival president Tudor Giurgiu, artistic director Mihai Chirilov and festival manager Cristian Hordilă said they sympathized with the filmmakers’ position but stood firm in their decision to program Russian films.
Read more on variety.com