15 October 2023, 17:47
Sokurov reports refusal to issue distribution certificate for his film
The Russian Ministry of Culture has refused to issue a distribution certificate for Alexander Sokurov's film "The Fairy Tale". The film director has stated that he is unaware of the reasons for the ban of his film and called this decision a new censorship stage.
On October 13, the Ministry of Culture banned the screening of the above film at a festival in Moscow. Sokurov has suggested that this would be followed by a refusal to issue a distribution certificate for the film and an unspoken ban on showing his other films.
"This is another stage of censorship," Mr Sokurov wrote in his Telegram channel.
The events in the film take place during the Second World War, but what is shown is a completely fictional world, Vasily Stepanov, the editor-in-chief of the "Seans" (Cinema) magazine.
Alexander Sokurov has noted that his film is, in fact, a fairy tale; and he could not guess for what reasons the film was banned from screening in Russia.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Sokurov's statements had more than once led to disputes with officials, including in Northern Caucasus. Thus, in December 2021, in Chechnya, at Ramzan Kadyrov's instigation, a wave of harsh criticism arose against Sokurov for his words about separatist sentiments existing among residents of Northern Caucasus.
In December 2019, in a conversation with Vladimir Putin, the film director expressed his doubts that Ramzan and Akhmat Kadyrov deserve the title of Heroes of Russia.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 14, 2023 at 07:31 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
