European Film Market: 130 Russian projects

Key Russian projects from the largest producers and distributors will be exhibited at EFM. Among them, Central Partnership introduces The World Champion and First Oscar, as well as the new aditions: the full-length animated films The Swiss Adventure and Dolphin Boy, and the feature film Nika, a drama about the fate of the famous Russian poetess Nika Turbina and it was awarded at the prestigious European Les Arcs Film Festival in December last year. The film had the opportunity to participate in the festival thanks to ROSKINO’s special initiative Focus on Festivals.

CTB Film Company will screen a new drama Breathe Easy about people with speech impediments. For a family audience, the new part of the franchise about the three Bogatyrs Horse Julius on the Throne and the Three Heroes; the new season of Moonzy and the continuation of the story of the Barkers (the first film, The Barkers: Mind the Cats!, was successfully sold in the US, Australia, Spain, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Turkey and Taiwan). The company distributor Luminiscence is presenting a new trailer for the animated film The Nutcracker and the Magic Flute, which is scheduled for release Christmas, December 2022. CTB films are traditionally in demand among buyers from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Benelux countries, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, so EFM is a key annual event for the company.

Art Pictures Distribution will present the military drama Saving Legacy and their latest sci-fi thriller Reversible Reality, as well as the TV series Brothers, Ballet with Ingeborga Dapkunaite in one of the main roles and projects under the brand more originals, Psychо and Happy End, which will be released in February on the largest Polish platform CDA, and in summer on the largest Brazilian platform Globo. The rights for Poland were bought by the distribution company Mediasquad; this is the first Russian TV series that the distributor has purchased for Poland. The CDA expects the series to become a hit and the most viewed program on its first month of release. In Brazil, Globo is currently working on localizing Happy End for the Brazilian audience.

All Media, a START Company, will screen the new drama Milk with Yulia Peresild and Yuri Kolokolnikov, as well as the comedy Desperate for marriage. It will also present a new original dramedy Kris+Tina at EFM and the hit Vampires of the Midland. EFM guests will be the first to see the teaser for the second season of the mystical drama Passengers. In 2021, the first season won the Short Form category of the Seoul International Drama Awards.

Creators of one of the most successful Russian series abroad To the Lake, 1-2-3 Production will present the second season of the popular series The Big Game; Dreams of Alice is a thriller already shown at major European festivals, which received Berlinale Series Market Choice status at last year's Berlinale as the project with the greatest marketing potential. The EFM screenings will host the premiere of the series Mr. Clean. The plot is based on the story of a professional cleaner who cleans up crime scenes and knows too much.

Rock Films in association with Riverlet Films will show the big-budget military drama about the demining of Palmyra Once in the Desert. The film has already been sold to major international territories and continues to generate strong interest in the market. The first screening of the film Zemun will also take place; it has already at the post-production stage and has aroused great interest among the selectors of international class A festivals.

Sakhafilm (Yakutia) will present joint projects with Auteur Studio and Khiki Films based on real event such as the drama Don't Bury Me Without Ivan, about the friendship between Russian artist Ivan Popov and Yakut Yegor Bereskov, who suffers from deathlike sleep, and the historical film Cold Gold about the events of 1942 in Yakutia, where gangs robbing gold mines became more active. One of the largest Russian online cinemas, Kinopoisk HD, will screen a new film, Aeterna. Part 1 in the genre of historical fantasy, which will be of interest to European audiences.

The multimedia online platform KION will present the newest thriller Ophiuchus at the EFM screenings. Also, the new dramedy The Kidney, and My Mom's Penguins directed by Natalya Meshchaninova, winner of the Grand Prix of the New York Film Awards, nominee for New Directors Award of the San Sebastián International Film Festival 2018.

Mars Media Entertainment will present two major premiere projects at the film market. The disaster film Mira is the story about how 15-year-old Lera, whose father works at an orbital space station, saves her loved ones and her city from a meteor shower with the help of her dad. And a large-scale mystical drama Woland based on the cult novel by Mikhail Bulgakov Master and Margarita; international experts predict the film will be in great demand at film festivals.

Sreda will present a new crime drama Chimera. The screenings will show the pilot of the project. The studio plans to find an international distributor and conclude a number of contracts; the project already in the early stages of production caused a great response. Sreda said that in 2022, together with the Russian online platform IVI, they intend to make 10 European series. Intercinema Studio is presenting a documentary film The Bitter Taste of Love or Frau Schindler's List. Representatives of the company are confident that their picture will be of interest to international buyers, especially those countries where the Holocaust is given special attention. Sovtelexport will present a new historic project, Elizaveta, an exciting series with luxurious costumes and scenery about palace intrigues in the struggle for the crown in the Russian Empire.

Proline Film Studio will introduce the film Brother in Every Inch, which takes part in the Encounters program of the 72nd Berlin Film Festival. The consultant of the project - Alexander Sokurov, one of the most titled Russian directors, winner of 47 international prizes, including Golden Lion of Venice Film Festival (Faust, 2011), Leopard of Honor at Locarno International Film Festival (2006), FIPRESCI Prize of Cannes Film Festival (“Father and son”, 2003), OCIC Award - Honorable Mention of Berlin International Film Festival (“Days of Eclipse”, 1989).

On the animation sector, Wizart will present an international teaser for the fifth part of the franchise, the cartoon The Snow Queen and the Princess, already been sold to France, South Korea and Turkey, and new deals are planned to be discussed at EFM. The company's package also includes the family adventure comedy The Warrior Princess. Riki Group's key project in 2022 is the feature film Finnick that the company plans to close deals in a number of Central European territories.

In addition, Ark Pictures, Channel 5, Planet Inform, Igmar, Life Is Short, Megogo, Mosfilm, Odin-Media, NTV, Prad-Media, Revolution Film, RFG Distribution, Riverlet Films, Star Media, Sputnik Vostok Production, MC2 Production, Greencity Studios, SMF Animation, Studio Z, and AA Studio will present their projects at the European Film Market.

Russian films and co-productions will be presented in various programs of the Berlin Film Festival, which will be held from February 10 to 20: the film Brother in Every Inch is in the Encounters program; Convenience Store and Happiness in the Panorama program; and The Land of Sasha in the Generation 14+ section. In the short film competition, Russia will be represented by the film Trap and the documentary Haulout by Evgenia and Maxim Arbugaev (winners of the Sundance Festival prize for the best cinematography for “Genesis”, 2018). The Berlinale serial program includes two episodes of the project “Identification”. 

Evgenia Markova, CEO of ROSKINO, commented: 'At the beginning of the year, the Russian film industry is announcing itself loudly and proudly at the film market, which traditionally begins the film year, where the main trends of the global film industry are set, and where directions for further development are determined. Several Russian films are participating in various programs of the Berlin Film Festival. For the first time in Berlin, Russian regional cinematography is strongly presented—the works of Yakut directors are at the Russian Content Worldwide (RCW) booth at the film market (two premieres), and in the short film competition of the film festival. I am incredibly pleased that new talents from the regions keep appearing, and we will make every effort to promote them to the world. I would also like to note the large number of premieres from Russian online platforms, which once again proves the creative potential of modern VOD services and the great audience demand for their original content'.