Harry Potter author during a speech about cancel culture.During a televised meeting with cultural figures, Putin claimed there was a campaign against Russian culture in response to the world’s reaction after he ordered the country’s military to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.“Today they are trying to cancel a whole thousand-year culture – our people”, Putin said. “They are banning Russian writers and books.”Putin was reported as saying: “They cancelled Joanne Rowling recently, the children’s author. Her books are published all over the world. Just because she did not satisfy the demands of gender rights,” he said, in reference to the backlash Rowling has received for her views on transgender issues.He went on: “They are trying to cancel our country.
‘F@ck This Job’ Director Vera Krichevskaya: ‘There Is No Space’ for Free Speech Under Putin
07.03.2022 - 14:09 / variety.com
Christopher Vourlias A fortnight ago, documentary filmmaker Vera Krichevskaya was anticipating the Russia release of her latest feature, “F@ck This Job,” a spirited, behind-the-scenes portrait of the country’s last independent broadcaster, TV Rain. But just days before the film’s Moscow premiere, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine.
On March 3, TV Rain bowed to political pressure and said it would suspend operations indefinitely.Amid the turmoil, Karo, Russia’s largest cinema chain, dropped the film; a splashy, red-carpet premiere was cancelled in the wake of a bomb threat. Krichevskaya, who arrived in Russia on the eve of the screening, fled the country.Since then, she’s been working frenetically from Tel Aviv, assisting former colleagues at a station she helped launch to safely make it out of Russia.
“It is a completely new reality,” the director told Variety. “When I opened my eyes [after the invasion], I thought it was a dream.” “F@ck This Job” charts the rise and fall of TV Rain (“Dozhd” in Russian), the rambunctious, free-spirited broadcaster that until last week was one of the last holdouts of an independent Russian media.
Told through the story of its founder, the champagne- and tango-loving socialite Natasha Sindeyeva, it follows the remarkable growth of the station during a turbulent decade when Russian President Vladimir Putin was determined to snuff out independent voices.The film, whose festival run has included the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) and DOC NYC, was released in the U.K. last week and broadcast on the BBC (with the title “Tango With Putin”).
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Lise Pedersen While her first feature-length doc “Outside” is having its world premiere in the main competition at the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX), Ukrainian director Olha Zhurba will be back home.
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Boris Johnson has said that Vladimir Putin "was frightened" of Ukraine and described the invasion as a "turning point for the world" during a Tory conference. The Prime Minister claimed that the Russian president's brutal invasion of his neighbour was motivated by the fear a successful Ukraine would trigger a pro-democracy revolution in Moscow.
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At about the same time that President Joe Biden was on the phone discussing Russia with China’s Xi Jinping, and as Russian troops pounded Ukrainian cities, Vladimir Putin gathered close to 200,000 Muscovites in a soccer stadium to put his spin on things.
Vladimir Putin 'vanishes mid-sentence' live on TV while delivering speech at pro-war rally
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Homes Under The Hammer's Martin Roberts in 26-hour drive to Poland/Ukraine border to deliver aid
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‘El Caja’ Director Lorenzo Vigas on Exploring the Birth of Evil and Casting a First-Time Actor as the Lead
Malina Saval Associate Editor, FeaturesThe theme of fathers and sons runs through the films of Venezuela-born writer-director Lorenzo Vigas, whose 2015 debut drama “From Afar,” which focuses on a troubled middle-aged man and young hustler in Caracas, won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In Vigas’ latest film “El Caja” (“The Box”), which screened Thursday at the 39th annual Miami Film Festival, this motif continues to resonate — and on a global scale.“El Caja,” which revolves around a young boy in Mexico City longing for a father figure — a desperate search with deadly consequences — could be the prototype of how a dictator such as Vladimir Putin rises to power, Vigas pointed out.“We are always trapped in our obsessions,” Vigas told fest attendees during a Q&A that followed the screening.
Does Putin have health problems? Four concerns after cancer claims sparked
There have been claims that Vladimir Putin could be seriously ill, with some suggesting he may have cancer.