Russian film director Yegor Konchalovsky has called for a shift in how the country's cinema industry is financed, arguing that private investors, not the state, should provide the bulk of funding for new films. He made the comments in an interview with VFokuse Mail.
Konchalovsky said the industry has become too reliant on state support, with the government now effectively the main donor to Russian filmmakers. He said this needs to change, with private financing returning to the sector.
He said his first films were made entirely with private money, while his film "The Aviator" was funded half privately and half by Fond Kino, Russia's state cinema fund. He said he was grateful the fund exists, but suggested the state should pay closer attention to what the money is spent on. He said many in the industry complain about being closely monitored, but that private producers put far more pressure on directors than the state does.
Fond Kino's role in Russian cinema
Fond Kino is Russia's principal state body for financing feature film production, distributing government funds to studios and producers each year.
Konchalovsky said he could not name any recent films that had interested him. He did, however, cite films he considers timeless, including Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire," which he said had transformed his sense of religiosity, giving him a feeling of an angel standing behind his back.
Choosing war films for his 80th birthday
The director said that to mark his 80th birthday, he showed children three war films chosen according to their age: the short film "And You Will See the Sky," Sergei Bondarchuk's "Fate of a Man," and Andrei Tarkovsky's "Ivan's Childhood."
Konchalovsky also addressed earlier comments from actor Dmitry Nagiev, who suggested Russian audiences were tired of war films. Konchalovsky disagreed, saying he believed viewers were more likely tired of fairy tale films in cinemas. He added that audience fatigue is difficult to measure, and that low box office earnings are not a reliable indicator of it.
