No Russian films will be nominated for Oscars this year, the Russian Film Academy announced on Monday night, at a time when the United States and Russia are going through one of the worst crises in their history with the conflict in Ukraine.
In a statement, the Academy said it had decided not to select and submit Russian films to be nominated for the 2023 Oscar for best international film. The head of the committee in charge of sending Russian feature films to the Oscars, Pavel Tchoukhraï, denounced this Tuesday morning a decision made “behind his back” and announced his resignation.
The United States “denies the existence of Russia”
Earlier on Monday, director Nikita Mikhalkov, a major figure in Russian cinema and an ardent supporter of President Vladimir Putin’s regime, said it was unnecessary for Russia to participate in the Oscars.
“It seems to me that choosing a film that represents Russia in a country that is actually currently denying the existence of Russia, just doesn’t make sense,” he told the TASS public news agency.
Nikita Mikhalkov recalled that he had offered to create a “Eurasian” equivalent to the Oscars of American cinema and that his project was being worked on.
Coming from a dynasty of famous artists in Russia, 76-year-old Nikita Mikhalkov received the Oscar for best foreign language film in 1995 for his feature film deceitful sun about the Stalinist dictatorship.
Source: BFM TV
