Terrific. Now I want to see the film.
Difficult to find the film online, since Aita is also the internet acronym for Am I the Asshole. Another film by the same name exists, which was made in 2001.The film appears to be about human trafficking in Yakutia.
| The Yakut are apparently yet another Turkic people, this one based in Siberia. |
“The rental certificate has been revoked in accordance with the order dated September 25, 2023,” the registry materials say.
The premiere of “Aita” took place back in December 2022. The film was included in the competition program of the Winter Festival, Burnashev received the festival award for best director's work, and the leading actor Innokenty Lukovtsev received the festival award for best actor. The film collected more than 25 million rubles at the box office.
On September 19, it was reported that the film was removed from Russian video services. Roskomnadzor told reporters that they had identified destructive information in the film that contradicts the principles of the unity of the peoples of Russia, namely, inequality of individuals based on nationality. The director responded by saying that he was pursuing exactly the opposite goals.
On September 26, the head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, spoke on local television in support of the authors of “Aita” and the film “The Candidate,” also shot by Yakut filmmakers. In this film, one of the main characters is a man dressed as a woman, and the film was reportedly rejected from distribution due to suspicions of LGBT propaganda. A mistake was made; the authors did not promote nationalism or non-traditional values, Nikolaev said.
Trailer. Film is translatable into English:
More from Oops Top
The head of Yakutia stood up for the films of local directors “Candidate” and “Aita”
The head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, stood up for the Yakut directors who made the films “The Candidate” and “Aita,” blocked by the Ministry of Culture and Roskomnadzor. According to Nikolaev, he knows Dmitry Shadrin and Stepan Burnashev very well, they are both patriots.
“In principle, they are not capable of making any films about non-traditional values or about nationalism,” – said the head of the region during a live line on the NVK Sakha channel.
Nikolaev emphasized that now in Yakutia not only films are being made “for domestic consumption”, but an entire film industry is being created. He expressed confidence that Yakut cinema not only took a step into the Russian market, but also realized that it could be in demand.
He did not rule out that it is the suddenly discovered distribution potential of Yakut films that provokes restrictions on access to them.
“The laws can be interpreted in different ways, but if you ban the film “The Candidate,” then tomorrow you should also ban “Gentlemen of Fortune” or “Hello, I’m your aunt,” — the head of the republic gave a not entirely logical example.
Nikolaev added that he spoke with the directors on the phone and reassured them with the phrase “don’t worry.”
“You just need to be, you know, somewhat more focused, understand where they can get caught, what mistakes they make, and do everything to avoid making them, and move forward, and your native republic will help. We don’t abandon our own,” – concluded the head of the region.
The film “The Candidate,” with a man dressed as a woman, did not receive a distribution certificate; signs of LGBT propaganda were revealed in it. At the same time, according to the Afisha portal, Yakut cinemas are currently carrying out shadow distribution of the film.
The film “Aita” received a distribution certificate and even appeared on Russian screens, collecting the most of all Yakut films – 26.4 million rubles. But last week the film was excluded from the libraries of online cinemas because Roskomnadzor found in it “destructive information that contradicts the principles of the unity of the peoples of Russia.”
“The film demonstrates the inequality of individuals based on nationality: the positive aspects of heroes of one nationality are contrasted with the emphatically negative traits of heroes of another nationality,” – emphasized in the supervisory department.
Let us note that national problems have always been quite acute in Yakutia; it was in the capital of the republic that one of the very first high-profile national conflicts in the USSR took place between Russian and Yakut students. It is a little symbolic that today, September 26, Yakutia celebrates Statehood Day of the Republic of Sakha. Moreover, “Sakha” is the self-name of the Yakuts; officially the republic has had this name since 1992.
It is worth noting that Russian authorities are extremely sensitive to matters such as a Yakut uprising. According to RefWorld.org, the Soviets collectivized Yakut agriculture, beginning in 1922. Yakuts responded with an armed rebellion which was put down by NKVD troops, ending in 1927.
I have a number of links on stories on this very matter -- somewhere -- and when I find them I will repost this article.
Probably not because of the Russian stated reason, the distribution certificate was revoked..