The European Film Academy called on the release of Kirill Serebrennikov

Today, August 23, the European Film Academy made a statement in which she expressed solidarity with director Kirill Serebrennikov and demanded that the Russian authorities immediately release him from arrest.

In a statement published on the website of the European Film Academy, Serebrennikov was named one of the most outstanding Russian theater and cinema directors, whose films participated in international festivals in Cannes, Venice and Locarno.

Two of them - “treason” and “student” - in 2013 and 2016 were nominated for the Award of the European Film Academy, for music for the “student” Ilya Demutsky received the prize in the nomination “European composer of 2016”.

The document states that Serebrennikov’s premises for house arrest mean that he will not be able to continue work either in the Moscow Gogol Center theater, or in St. Petersburg, where the shooting of his new film is going on.

“There is every reason to consider the arrest of Kirill Serebrennikov politically motivated,” academics write. They turn to the Russian authorities with a request to immediately free the director and guarantee him the freedom of movement and artistic expression.

The statement was signed by members of the Board of the European Academy - Francis Bezpleg (France), Mike Dauni (Great Britain), Agnoshka Holland (Poland), Rebecca O'Brien (Great Britain), Antonio Saura (Spain) - and another 125 filmmakers from different countries of Europe.

On August 22, Kirill Serebrennikov was detained by employees of the Investigative Committee of Russia and the next day was placed under house arrest until October 19. The director is accused of especially large fraud, he does not admit his guilt. Many cultural figures in Russia and abroad spoke in support of Serebrennikov.