Human Rights in Russia have no chance to get to the viewer

After talking with directors and human rights activists, I decided to find out the opinion of those on whom it depends on whether the audience will see new films about human rights or not. Namely, with the organizers of the film screenings. And the first one I asked is Andrei Alekseev from Yaroslavl, the organizer of the oil project. Andrei for a very long time in the film industry, for many years has been indulging in the inhabitants of Yaroslavl with a rental of new products both in the genre of game and documentary cinema. And that's what turned out.

- Andrei, as a movie on human rights to show in today's Russia? And does it even exist in your opinion?

- The cinema that you are talking about takes place, especially when there are problems with human rights and their protection and with knowledge of people that are part of their rights. This is an relevant topic, and it is necessary to shoot this movie and convey to the viewer at the sites that are ready for this. It seems to me that the main problem of this genre is now in Russia in the presence of sites that would be ready to show this movie and collect an audience. This is not just a movie, but this is a discussion material, after viewing, there must be discussions, including with the involvement of experts. And this is the main problem. How to assemble all this, propiarize and convey to the audience. Everything rests on the presence of enthusiasts who would not be afraid.

- How do you assess the prospects of such a movie within your project?

- Of course, we show when there is something to show. And they did it until recently very often. Just now there is no fresh content on this topic.

- Seriously?

- Such fresh content for a public display? Yes, it is not, although everything is available on the Internet.

- But are the films from the program of the last “Artdokfest” is not the same content that we are talking about?

- Maybe. But the problem is that these films cannot be released to the subclasses of Artdokfest. How everything works. “Artdokfest” is a festival accredited in the Ministry of Culture and therefore can show films without rolling certificates, but only within the framework of its festival programs. Therefore, the viewer can watch these fresh films about human rights either at the festival or then online. But this movie cannot get to other film sites. Because for the sake of this, copyright holders should receive rental certificates on their own. And they are not a fact that they will do it. I cannot show publicly a movie that does not have rolling.

- Well, yes, but a tough human rights cinema has practically no chance of getting them in the Ministry of Culture, so what?

- More likely.

- But there is such a format as an echo of the festival in the regions. There was an echo of “Ardokfest”. It seems that even in Yaroslavl there were shows of some films.

- The echo was once. And then it was worth it to convince the festival’s directorate that this has some kind of box office, or even it makes no sense. True, everything in fact has passed very weakly. It was the end of December, maybe that's why. It seems, 2016 or 2017. Even the authors of the films came. Dima Bogolyubov with the film " Wall ". This film was shot on Stalin’s birthday, there just the camera stood against the Kremlin wall and shot everything. Very good movie. We also showed the “ County City E ”, there about patriotic education. But on this we stopped with Artdokfest.

- Does the Stalker Human Rights Festival not hold an echo in the regions?

- No, the “stalker” never came to us, and there was not even an attempt on their part to find regional sites. In general, everything is very limited by these tools and filters. The festival must be accredited in a pre -accredited Ministry of Culture and receive this accreditation every year again. The application for accreditation must indicate all the terms and places of festival shows, so it is too late to agree with the regions after the festival was held. And single, non -festival shows - these should be rental certificates that receive both dreary and expensive. For the sake of two shows in some city, no one will do this. To show without rolling is a fine, and tangible.

- A sad conclusion suggests itself. Human rights cinema has no chance to reach the viewer. But the directors want to shoot it - and they will no matter what.