"We were asked to change the final of the picture"

Russian investors ceased to cooperate with Andrei Zvyagintsev. The director believes that the matter is in self -censorship

In Kommersant, a column of film critic and observer Andrei Plakhov “In -Reasonable Relations” came out, in which the author claims that producers and investors refuse to cooperate with Andrei Zvyagintsev. Now the director is working on a film about a wealthy Russian who owned the house at the Mediterranean Sea - he was refused to finance the Foundation of Roman Abramovich, and also during the work the team was left by the producer of the project Ilya Stuart. Prior to this, Zvyagintsev planned to make a film about the besieged Leningrad - and also did not receive support. The director connects this situation with censorship, but the Abramovich fund denies everything.

In 2018, it became known that director Andrei Zvyagintsev (the owner of two Oscar nominations, three Cannes awards and one Golden Leo) began work on the film about the blockade Leningrad - he himself confirmed this message in the show "Mosteniper" . The producer of the previous paintings by Zvyagintsev ("dislike", "Leviathan", "Elena") Alexander Rodnyansky refused to work on this project. The director began to work on him with the producer of Hype Film Ilya Stuart (“Summer”, “Student”, “Lessons of Farsi”), but he, in turn, soon also refused to work on the film about the war. After that, Zvyagintsev and Stuart took up a new project.

In 2019, Hype Film reported that Zvyagintsev shoots a picture of a rich Russian who owns a house at the Mediterranean Sea. The director himself said that this is a movie “that now concerns everyone concerns everyone”, but “which is not customary to talk about.”

The script of the picture was highly appreciated by the expert council of the private foundation of Roman Abramovich “Kinopraim”. According to Plakhov, “considerable money” had already been spent on the development of the project, and locations for filming in Spain were selected. But suddenly Stuart and Kinopraim refused to participate. Plakhov connects this with censorship - in his opinion, the “Russophobic” “Leviathan” was Zvyagintsev’s last film, which was ready to support the state, after which private investors practically stopped cooperating with the director. However, the author does not give direct evidence of this.

In a conversation with Medusa, Andrei Zvyagintsev confirmed that work on an international project was suspended; He also confirmed that Ilya Stuart left the project. Stuart did not comment on the situation.

Anton Malyshev Executive Director, Anton Malyshev, in a conversation with Medusa, confirmed that the script really received high marks of experts. “But the project budget for the author’s cinema is unprecedented, about 700 million rubles,” he said. At the same time, the Fund himself explains Malyshev, according to its internal rules, only 100 million can invest. He has no confirmation that the rest of the money for the film is collected. According to Plakhov, the project has “serious European investments”, but he does not call the exact amount.

According to Malyshev, the Fund fears that it will not be possible to return the investment: “We must guarantee investors that there is a chance to return the money and that there is the missing part of the budget. So far, we have no confirmation on any or another point. If the missing money is collected, we will be able to return to this. ” Malyshev rejects accusations of censorship. According to him, there is no “black list” of films that cannot be financed: “I read the script, there is nothing seditious there to be seriously discussed.”

“The true reason for which our project was stopped is that we were proposed to change the final of the picture,” said Andrei Zvyagintsev “Medusa”. - If we went to this, we would be supported by the Aramovich Foundation “Kinopraim”, the head of which, as I know, finds the reasons for what happened in financial inappropriateness. All this seems strange to me, because in the process of our work on the film, such reasons have never spoke out from the foundation. For almost a year, investing his own funds - moreover, considerable - Ilya Stuart broadcast absolute confidence in the possibility of implementing a project with such a budget. Neither he, nor investors, nor representatives of the final fund of the picture were embarrassed by the entire period of time at nine months from March 2019 to November 2019. As they say, nothing portended. Ilya Stuart, who was selflessly believing in the picture for a year, refused further work even if money from another investor was found. Today we are looking for a new producer, we continue to look for financing, and if we do not get the collected from other sources, we will certainly turn to the Kinopraim Foundation for support. The finale of the picture remains the same. ”

Natalia Gredina