An open letter to the filmmakers on the situation around the movie “Matilda” – Meduza

the Film by Alexei Uchitel “Matilda”, is scheduled for release in October 2017, and no one has ever seen. But is not the first month the picture is campaign, and only shortsighted people can consider a kind of advertising. The Deputy of the state Duma Natalia Poklonskaya that’s the second time intends to initiate a Prosecutor’s check on suspicion of insulting the feelings of believers. They are concerned that the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Czar Nicholas II can be shown not quite in the guise of “Holy”: indeed, in the basis of the scenario — his novel (however ended even before his coronation and marriage) with the ballet dancer Mathilde Kschessinska. This is not enough. It became known about the distribution in cinemas of the country letters on behalf of some organization “Orthodox state Holy Russia” with threats to those distributors who dares to show “Matilda”. These letters contained an appeal to the burning o f cinemas and violent actions.

the situation around the “Matilda” fits in with a number of other recent conflicts in the field of culture: it is the prohibition of the Opera “tannhäuser”, the pogrom of the exhibition of Vadim Sidur, dissatisfaction with the exhibition policy of the Museum. In all these stories is the apparent power are the so-called “Orthodox activists”, but the official Church does not give evaluation of the situation. In the best case, a wait is held by the Ministry of culture.

We, the filmmakers, especially the older generation, know very well what censorship is, in the decades of the Soviet era mutilating the fate of artists and prevent the development of art. We don’t want our culture came under new press censorship, no matter what a powerful force it or initiate. We want to live in a secular democratic country where not only the Constitution, but in fact, censorship is prohibited.

Letter initiated by the Kinosoyuz, but to his signing of the invited filmmakers, regardless of membership, as it is a common threat.

the Letter was signed by:

Andrei Proshkin, the Chairman of the Kinosoyuz

Alexander Gelman

Andrei Smirnov

Pavel Lungin

Mansky

Andrew block

Boris Khlebnikov

Alexei Fedorchenko

Marina Razbezhkina

Andrey Shemyakin

Alexander Kott

Alexander Rastorguev

Pavel Kostomarov

Bogomolov

Alexander Zeldovich

Mikhail Lipskerov

Elena Stishova

Alexander Golutva

Nina Zarkhi

Aleksei Popogrebsky

Julia Glezarova

Matthew Troshinkin

Sergey elms

Olga Galitskaya

Natalia Nusinova

Leonid pavlyuchik

Vladimir Sensitively

Anatoly golubovskiy

Yuri Feklistov

Victoria Smirnova

Catherine Tatar

Larisa Malyukova

Andrejs Abols

Catherine Meliksetova

Angela Abzalova

Elena Demidova

Viktor Matizen

Anna Kukes

Varvara Faer

Catherine Tarkhanov

Alexander Belobokov

Vladimir Dvina

Alexander Kolbowski

Yevgeny Gindilis

Yuri Shumsky

Michael Lamkin

Valery Retired.

Nicholas Markosov

Thank Padalka

Alexei Khanyutin

Yuri Maryamov

Avdotya Smirnova

Daniil Dondurei

Zara Abdullaeva

Olga Shervud

Alexey geleyn

Eugene Maisel

Ekaterina Barabash

David Schneider

Murad Aliyev

Alexander Proshkin

Aleksei Mizgirev

Sergey Kudryavtsev

Alexander Zinoviev