Russian culture minister moots quota for foreign movies

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/15/russian-culture-minister-vladimir-medinsky-quota

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Russia's culture minister Vladimir Medinsky is considering introducing a cap on the number of movies imported to the country each year, saying that "without [it], it is impossible to help the Russian film sector".

In the Soviet era, only six non-Soviet films could be exhibited each year, and Medinsky has cited this to defend his stance on quotas. It is unclear exactly what percentage of film releases he intends to be home-grown, but he said that "20% is a reasonable figure".

His suggestion comes as Russian films have performed badly in recent years at the domestic box office, from a 30% market share in 2005 to just 15% in 2012, when no Russian films were in the top ten biggest hits. But the country has seen its biggest ever box office success in recent months, with the film Stalingrad taking $66m (£40.17m) since October.

Medinsky is a controversial figure for his Myths About Russia history books which aim to present Russia in a more positive light – including denials that Soviet troops occupied the Baltic states and Poland during the second world war. "If we do not squeeze out the poison of dirty myths, they will be passed on, like a baton, to future generations," he has said, and believes that screenwriters of historical films should be "told what's good, and what's bad".

There were fears that Russia's film industry would be able to make fewer international co-productions, thus strengthening revenue abroad, following the 2012 restructuring of the Russian Cinema Fund. This independent body received an annual budget of $170m (£103m) a year to fund films and promote them overseas, but it was taken over by the culture ministry itself, leading to worries that its international standing would be damaged. But Medinsky is now talking up the international remit of the fund, reasoning: "All international activities are given to the fund – it has more resources."

By 2017, the ministry intends to double the amount now given in state subsidies to film-makers, but expects a greater proportion of revenue as a result, with the returns fed back into the film industry. Of the $156.9m (£95.5m) distributed last year via subsidies, the ministry will claim back $22.9m (£13.9m), Medinsky told Gazeta.ru this month. The move means that Russian producers will likely gravitate towards surefire commercial projects, and away from more marginal fare.

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