THE RUSSIAN MIRACLE
Alyona Dushka

Russia Profile
July 1, 2009

The Moscow International Film Festival Gave its Participants a Chance
to Honor the Russians and Kiss Up to the Georgians

The 31st Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) has come to a
close. According to tradition, the final awards ceremony was held
at the Pushkinsky movie theater. The unexpectedly "Russian," or,
better yet, "Russo-Georgian" coda was reminiscent of similar events
held during the Soviet times, when all people were "bothers" and
everything Russian was "the best." But was this nostalgia in action,
or just our new reality at play?

The awards were given out quickly and efficiently, without announcing
the names of the contenders in each category-just the winner was called
onstage. The first to receive a prize was the Georgian director Vano
Burduly, who won the "Perspectives" competition for new filmmakers
with his film "The Conflict Zone," a story of two young men, one from
Sukhumi and the other from Tbilisi, who found themselves in the zone
of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Elena Kostyuk, a young actress from Ukraine, was the second to be
called on stage to receive the best actress prize for her performance
in Kira Muratova’s "Melody for a Barrel-Organ." But the jury’s
choice did not match the viewers’ and film critics’ expectations:
many believed that Muratova’s film was set to win the festival’s main
prize. Possibly, if Muratova had made her film in Russia and not in
the Ukraine, the outcome would have been different. But one shouldn’t
mix film up with politics- each to his own.

The Golden St. George for best actor was given to Vladimir Ilyin for
his performance in Karen Shakhnazarov’s "Ward Number 6" as Ragin, a
misanthropic doctor slowly loosing his mind out of helplessness. In
his acceptance speech, Ilyin thanked both Shakhnazarov and Anton
Chekhov for being so "bottomless," referring to the myriad of ways
in which the author’s works can be interpreted.

The best director award went to Mariana Chenillo and her film "Five
Days without Nora," a tragicomedy about a man who divorced some 20
years ago and whose former wife recently died, but who still feels
her presence and her involvement in his life. The film also focused
on silly religious formalities and the subject of love.

The jury’s special prize was awarded to Alexander Proshkin’s
"Miracle." Onstage, Proshkin was named as a possible contender for
the title of the "most ‘miraculous’ Russian director." The director
himself noted that the award itself was "a small miracle."

The evening’s highlight was the last and most important category-the
main prize of the festival, given to Nikolai Dostal’s "Pete on the Way
to Heaven." Dostal himself claimed that he could in no way "foresee
this victory." Pavel Lungin, the chairman of the jury, agreed, saying
that "the judges paid a tribute to this film" as the one that was
the most "human, humanistic and at the same time, tragically profound."

Thus none of the Russian pictures entered in the main competition came
away empty-handed. While small miracles were taking place onstage, the
President of the MIFF Nikita Mikhalkov called on aspiring filmmakers
"not to be afraid to submit their films for the festival," and
confirmed the festival’s "magic" by saying that "as long as the Russian
films remain the best, they will be awarded whatever they deserve."

The last award presented at the festival was the final chord of the
Russo-Georgian etude. Georgian film director Rezo Chkheidze received
the prize for an "outstanding contribution to world cinema." Following
the award ceremony, the cinematography guru gave a very touching
speech. "The clouds that now crowd the sky between Russia and Georgia
are bound to dissolve, while the sky itself, clean and bright, will
remain. Our job is to love and to be friends."

Russian Minister of Culture Alexander Avdeev continued the subject of
the two states’ amicable relations. "You must tell all of our friends,
the Georgians, that right next to them there are neighbors, bothers,
and very good people," he said. He likewise summarized the results of
the festival: in the course of ten days, 40,000 viewers were able to
watch 500 films, 16 of them participating in the competition. He also
added that the "government is engaged" in building a separate venue for
the festival, so that "it would be easier" for the jury to do its work.

Members of the jury also shared their impressions. Alyona Babenko
said that "the judges diligently did their homework, and there was
no disagreement as to what pictures should receive the prizes. The
Indian film director Shyam Benegal assured journalists that "there
was no pressure" on the judges. However, the jury did call for more
comedies to be entered in the competition in the future, since this
year there was only one.

The main jury’s opinion was not shared by the International Federation
of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), which announced its first awards before
the start of the festival’s closing ceremony and gave its main prize
to Muratova’s "Melody for a Barrel-organ."

The Ukrainian film also won the International Federation of Film Clubs’
"Keen Eye" award for its "uncompromising artistic personification
of the tragedy of utter indifference." Meanwhile, the Russian film
critics’ jury gave their best film award to Gabriele Salvatores’
"As God Commands," while Andrey Eshpay’s "Event" topped their list in
the "Perspectives" category. The Russian film critics also bestowed
a special mention and a diploma on "The Missing Person," directed by
Noah Buschel.

The Kommersant publishing house gave its prize to a unique
Russian-Japanese anime cartoon about heroic Russian pioneers, "First
Squad: the Moment of Truth," directed by Yosiharu Ashino.

Jury chairman Lungin attempted to explain the "Russianness" of
the festival to the journalists by saying that "the competition
was uneven, but it was Russia that presented the best films at the
festival. The Western pictures did reflect the global trends, but
there were not original enough or not politically correct, while the
Russian filmmakers’ ideas are original and fresh."

The festival is over, but its results will continue to resonate both on
the big screen and in the ongoing conflict within the Cinematographers
Union. It remains unclear whether we are living through a renaissance
of Russian cinema, or through a period of nostalgia for all things
Soviet, but time will tell, and the viewer will be the judge.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress