Moscow opens doors to global cinema

International Film Festival Week featured various activities across 100 locations, including film screenings, masterclasses, concerts, and more

By Kapila Raghuram

Moscow: The malls are buzzing with activity, the popular metro busy as always irrespective of rush hour or not and cars cruise along the wide roads. That is Moscow. If one thought the Ukraine war must be having an impact on Russia, forget it. It’s as bustling as any other capital, and people leave it to the ‘government’ to sort out the ‘issues’ while they go about their daily chores of life normally.

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A pointer to this is the Moscow International Film Festival Week (MIFW) held in the Russian capital from August 23-28. It saw the participation of industry professionals, filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts from 40 countries.

Alexey Fursin, Head of the Department of Culture of the City of Moscow, said the event was designed to showcase Moscow as a vibrant cinema city, offering a platform to explore the city’s capabilities and infrastructure for film production.

“Moscow has never before hosted an event of this scale, uniting festival, exhibition, and business programmes under one roof,” said Fursin. “Our mission is to demonstrate that Moscow is a true cinema city, providing a rich atmosphere that will inspire filmmakers and industry professionals alike.”

Recently, the crew of Thalapathy Vijay’s ‘The Greatest of All Time’ (GOAT) was filmed in Moscow, Fursin said. The week-long event featured various activities across 100 city locations, including film screenings, masterclasses, concerts, and more.

MIFW is not only about celebrating cinema but also about fostering international cooperation. The event’s business programme, divided into four thematic areas — Global Markets, scriptwriting, collaboration and promotion, and film production — facilitated discussions on the future of the film industry.

The Department of Culture of the City of Moscow aims at increasing the creative industry contribution, which is currently 3-5% of Moscow’s GDP. New business areas, with India, China, Turkiye and other countries are the focus areas, according to Fursin.

It’s interesting to note that India followed by Turkey, China and other countries emerged as the main content provider since 2023. Till 2019, the US and European union were ruling the roost.

Fresh visual experience

The production and experience park coming up on 1,100 hectares on the lines of Ramoji Film City is worth a visit. If one has to experience and see the majestic landmarks in one go, this is the place, according to Ivan Golomovzyuk, well know Russian producer and also advisor to the park. The project is expected to be completed by 2030, and currently, the famous Kremlin Square, Red Square, railway stations, airports, government offices and the parliament to name a few have already been replicated.