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| Film about the expulsion of Georgians from Russia returns to the Venice Film Festival program |
| 2024-09-07 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [KavkazUzel] A court in Venice has lifted a ban on the screening of the film Antiques, about the mass expulsion of Georgians from Russia in 2006, in the competition program of the film festival. Director Rusudan Glurjidze said that Russia tried to prevent filming and confiscate the footage. As the "Caucasian Knot" reported, on September 27, 2006, the Georgian authorities detained five Russian servicemen (GRU officers). One of them was soon released, four were charged with espionage against Georgia. After that, raids began to identify Georgians, including in schools. In just one week, from October 5, 2006, Moscow courts issued decisions on the administrative expulsion of 598 Georgian citizens. One of the Georgian citizens died during deportation at Domodedovo Airport, and many complained about the conditions of detention. Among those deported (administratively expelled) during the anti-Georgian campaign were many people who had all their documents in order, visas, and residence permits. Often, a Georgian surname was enough for expulsion, the "Civic Assistance" Committee* noted at the time. According to the Georgian border services, from July to September 2006, over 260 Georgian citizens were expelled from Russia, and from October 2006 to January 2007, their number was 2,920 people. The Russian side claims that there was no mass deportation, a court decision was made for each immigrant, and only those who violated Russian migration legislation were expelled. The Georgian authorities filed a lawsuit against Russia with the ECHR on March 26, 2007. On July 3, 2014, the court in Strasbourg recognized Russia's violation of a number of provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. On July 3, 2015, Georgia demanded 70.32 million euros from Russia. On January 31, 2019, the ECHR awarded 1,500 Georgian citizens 10-15 thousand euros in compensation . The total amount of compensation was 10 million euros. The court suspended the decision that blocked the screening of the film "Antiques" by Georgian director Rusudan Glurjidze at the Venice Film Festival. The film was returned to the Giornate degli Autori ("Author's Days") competition of the independent section of the film forum, the publication "News Georgia" reported today. "Antiques" is a feature film based on real events. The film tells the story of the mass illegal deportation of Georgians from Russia in 2006. Glurdzhidze spoke about the great difficulties their team faced while working on the film and the direct interference of the Russian authorities, the publication says. According to Glurjidze, "the Russian Ministry of Culture demanded that several scenes be removed." "The Georgian team refused, which led to attempts to obstruct the filming and, ultimately, to the confiscation of the footage at the border," she said. "Luckily, two copies were saved. After that, the film began to be blocked," she told ScreenDaily on August 28. A representative of the Venice Film Festival competition committee is satisfied with the court's decision. "The Venice court upheld our claim and, obviously, allowed the film to be shown, recognizing the rights of the director. Thus, we can say that justice has been restored in relation to cinematography, the creative individuals involved, the Georgian director and the film itself. First of all, a precedent has been set for the Venice Film Festival, which will benefit future filmmakers around the world," Screen International magazine quoted the head of the competition, Italian director Francesco Ranieri Martinotti, as saying. The reason for the suspension of the screening was the ruling of the Venice court to take action against the Georgian company Cinetech, which brought the film " Antique" to the festival. The decision was made on the basis of a statement by the Croatian and Cypriot producers of " Antique". It states that Cinetech Ltd. (Georgia) illegally exercises control over the film and is trying to show it at the Venice Film Festival without the necessary permissions and rights, the publication proficinema reported. Russian screenwriter Oleg Negin said that he worked on the film, but had not seen "a single frame" and relations with Georgian producers had deteriorated, after which he asked to remove his name from the credits. "Now the film is being presented scandalously, as a near-political event." "For my part, I can say that I worked on creating an adventurous romantic story, packaged in the format of a socially acute drama (with elements of black comedy), which had nothing to do with current politics, no matter what anyone says," his words are quoted in the publication. On the website kinopoisk.ru, the film, shot in St. Petersburg, is dated 2022. The countries of origin are listed as Russia, Georgia, Cyprus and Croatia. The description of the film does not mention the expulsion of Georgians from Russia. "A young Georgian named Lado is engaged in smuggling antique furniture from Georgia to Russia. Two women are waiting for him in St. Petersburg. The owner of an antique warehouse Manana and Medea, Lado's girlfriend, who is tired of his immaturity. Medea, who recently sold her house in Georgia, goes to look at an apartment in the historical center of St. Petersburg. The price of the apartment is very low, but it is sold only together with its owner, an old man named Vadim. Medea agrees to the deal," the description says. Источник: https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/403443 © Кавказский Узел |
| Posted by:badanov |