Russian Film Week kicks off in Beijing

Russian Film Week kicked off in Beijing on Monday to start a week-long exhibition of Russian films in the Chinese capital and Changsha.

This year's Russian Film Week will be held in Beijing from Sept. 6 to 10, before moving to Changsha, capital of Hunan province, from Sept. 8 to 12. The event will screen six popular Russian films with anti-fascism themes, including: The Last Frontier, T-34, Frontier, The Match, Hill 89 and Zoya. Among them, T-34 and Frontier had theatrical releases in China and were quite popular.

This year's Russian Film Week is very meaningful, as the common memory of Russia and China fighting together against fascist aggression will surely be passed on from generation to generation, between the people of both countries, and will be enduring forever, said Li Hui, the special representative of the Chinese government for Eurasian Affairs and former Chinese ambassador to Russia, at the opening ceremony.

Andrey Denisov, Russian Ambassador to China, agreed and pointed out that both Russia and China suffered huge casualties and losses during the Anti-Fascist War (World War II). He said Russia and China established a genuine military brotherhood in those years, and now the soldiers of the two countries are continuing this tradition.

Posters of six films to be shown during Russian Film Week. [Photo courtesy of China Film Group]

Denisov said that he believes that the film event is of great significance, hoping that the films shown during the event will resonate and become more popular with Chinese audiences, and will further help develop Russian-Chinese cooperation.

Li Hui also noted that as this year marks the 76th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945) and World War II, China and Russia should aim to always be the builders of world peace, contributors to global development and maintainers of international order by setting an example of good-neighborly and friendly cooperation between major powers. By doing this, the two countries can make a greater contribution to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Russian and Chinese artists perform their own folk dances at the opening ceremony of the Russian Film Week in Beijing, Sept. 6, 2021. [Photo/China.org.cn]

The success of the Russian Film Week will further promote pragmatic cooperation between China and Russia in the film industry, pushing for the common prosperous development of both countries' film industries, writing a new chapter for the exchanges and mutual appreciation between Chinese and Russian civilizations and the traditional friendship between the two peoples, added Bai Yimin, deputy director of the China Film Administration.

With the joint efforts of both sides, China and Russia have held regular joint film festivals in recent years and conducted film exchanges and cooperation in various aspects, injecting new vitality into the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era.

Filmmaker Jia Zhangke (R) and actor Zhang Guangbei talk with the audience at the opening ceremony of the Russian Film Week held in Beijing, Sept. 6, 2021. [Photo courtesy of China Film Group]

Vadim Shmelyov's The Last Frontier, a film about the feats of the Podolsk cadets in October 1941, who were ordered to take up the defense of Moscow on the Ilyinsky line, was the opening film of the Russian Film Week on Monday. Before its screening, famous Chinese director Jia Zhangke and actor Zhang Guangbei also walked on stage at the opening ceremony to share their love and memories about Russian military blockbusters with the audience.