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RUSSIAN FILMMAKERS ATTEND SUNDANCE AND PRESENT THE PREMIERE OF THEIR FILMS IN NEW YORK CITY
January 14, 2010
For Immediate Release
RUSSIAN FILMMAKERS ATTEND SUNDANCE AND PRESENT THE PREMIERE OF THEIR FILMS IN NEW YORK CITY
A group of independent Russian filmmakers participating in the Open World Cultural Leaders Program will spend January 20th to February 2nd, 2010 in the US on a residency co-hosted by CEC ArtsLink and the Sundance Film Festival. The directors - Yuri Bykov, Alisa Khmelnitskaya, Ilya Kazankov, and Ekaterina Telegina - will present their award-winning short films at a North American premiere screening in New York City on January 21st. They will then continue on to Park City, UT for a program of industry networking events at the Sundance Film Festival.
The Open World Cultural Leaders Program is an endeavor of the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, whose aim is to promote cross-cultural understanding through professional exchange. This is the first year that CEC ArtsLink is partnering with the Sundance Film Festival to host a group of Open World Cultural Leaders, establishing what promises to be a lasting and fruitful partnership. While in New York City and at Sundance, the filmmakers will attend industry events, meet with their US counterparts, and partake in a range of cultural activities. In addition to fostering professional growth, the visit will also afford them the opportunity to bring Russian cinema to the forefront of American consciousness and create valuable cross-cultural dialogue through the universal language of film.
Selected in a competitive nomination process, the four directors have already won numerous awards in Russia and Europe for their depictions of the inner conflicts facing ordinary Russians today. From Telegina’s accomplished visual style to Bykov’s unflinching exploration of power, the filmmakers demonstrate that the new generation of voices emerging in Russian cinema is relevant, contemporary and easily accessible to audiences across the ocean.
Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 7:30pm
New Russian Cinema: A Program of Four Shorts
Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick Street, New York, NY
$5 suggested donation at the door
RSVP to akadysheva-yong@cecartslink.org to reserve tickets
The featured films are:
The Boss (2009, 20 mins, dir. Yuri Bykov)
A couple of desperate burglars break into the summer house of a federal security service chief. The tables are quickly turned as they find out what it’s like to cross a man accustomed to unlimited power.
Best Short Film, 2009 Kinotavr Film Festival (Sochi); Official Selection, Interfest 25th International Short Film Festival (Berlin).
Boulevard (2008, 7 mins, dir. Alisa Khmelnitskaya)
A chance conversation of two women on a boulevard bench pits the romantic optimism and innocence of one against the cynicism and experience of the other, leaving them both transformed.
Special Jury Prize, 2008 Beginning (“Nachalo”) Student Film Festival (St. Petersburg); Official Selection, Short Film Competition, 2008 Kinotavr Film Festival (Sochi).
Mom (2009, 21 mins, dir. Ilya Kazankov)
Two Naval Academy cadets sneak out into the city to make a very important phone call, setting off a chain of comical and touching adventures.
Official Selection, 2009 Vilnius Film Shorts International Festival.
The Gust of Wind (2009, 23 min, dir. Ekaterina Telegina)
There are some days that, like a gust of wind, will suddenly upend your entire life – for better or worse.
Special mention for excellence in cinematography, 2009 Kinotavr Film Festival (Sochi); People’s Choice Award and special jury mention, ARTkino Russian Festival of Art Films; Official Selection, Interfest 25th International Short Film Festival (Berlin) and the 2009 Russian Film Festival in London.
For advance press copies, please call Anna Kadysheva-Yong at 212-643-1985x17 or email akadysheva-yong@cecartslink.org.
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CEC ArtsLink, through a multi-faceted program of cultural exchange, serves to create and sustain constructive, mutually beneficial relationships in the arts between the United States and Eastern and Central Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Working with artists, arts organizations and community-based groups, CEC ArtsLink provides an essential structure for ongoing dialogue, contributing to a culture of openness and trust between nations.
With years of experience as a leader in cultural exchange between the United States and Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, CEC ArtsLink has long been a behind-the-scenes player in numerous esteemed cultural events, as a supporter and facilitator of residencies, projects, and networks for artists and art managers at venues across the U.S. and around the world. Today, we are pleased to bring an on-going series of cultural events to the public through our partnerships in New York, around the United States, and abroad. Visit our homepage for more about upcoming events and on-going projects.
The Open World Cultural Leaders Program aims to forge better understanding between the United States and Russia by enabling emerging Russian leaders in the arts to experience America’s cultural and community life, and to work with their American counterparts. The program is supported by the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress, with partnership and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Open World is a unique, nonpartisan initiative of the U.S. Congress. Delegates range from judges to mayors, from innovative nonprofit directors to experienced journalists, and from political party activists to regional administrators. Over 11,000 Open World participants have been hosted in all 50 U.S. states since the program’s inception in 1999.
The annual Sundance Film Festival, held in and around Park City, Utah each January, is widely regarded as the premier U.S. showcase for American and international independent film. The Sundance Film Festival is a program of the Sundance Institute, founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Sundance Institute is a not-for-profit organization that fosters the development of original storytelling in film and theatre. It is internationally recognized for its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists.
For more information about the visiting filmmakers, please visithttp://www.cecartslink.org, or email akadysheva-yong@cecartslink.org.
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