(Moscow) Upon learning of Hollywood’s suspension of the release of her films in Russia, in reaction to the “unjustified” military intervention in Ukraine, Muscovite Mila Grekova “immediately understood for whom the death knell is tolling.”
Posted at 10:49 a.m.
American film translator, M.me Grekova has been out of work since the Big Five — Disney, Universal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Paramount — to remove their productions from the Russian calendar.
She still wonders about the purpose of the sanctions: “It’s the West that I hate today, not (Vladimir) Putin, their target”.
“Here, Bollywood may replace Hollywood, but it’s too late for me to learn Hindi,” says the 56-year-old translator, disillusioned, reacting to the idea of replacing American titles with Indian films, mentioned in Russia.
Beyond his case, it is the entire Russian cinema industry that is suffering the fallout from the conflict in Ukraine, when it was barely recovering from the new coronavirus pandemic.
The fate of the industry hangs this time on sanctions, while Russia was the leading European cinema market with 145.7 million admissions last year, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory.
Asian movies?
Before the suspension decided by Hollywood, the Russian company Mosfilm-Master carried out the dubbing of ten foreign films per month.
“Today, we have lost two-thirds of the orders,” laments its director Evguény Beline, who receives AFP in a powerful Mosfilm studio.
“During the pandemic, we had films, but no cinemas open. Today, we have our theaters, but no films, ”he summarizes.
The country could close half of its theaters, because those risk “losing up to 80% of revenue” after Hollywood’s departure, the Russian Association of Theater Owners warned in early March.
To adapt and survive, Mosfilm-Master is preparing to hire Korean and Chinese translators, even if its director “doubts that Asian films work for Russians” because of cultural differences.
“It’s not always easy,” says this 70-year-old specialist, including “30 in dubbing”. “Westerns are closer to us.”
“Exploring Yourself”
“The situation is extremely difficult, but not catastrophic,” however, wants to put Olga Ziniakova, 37, president of one of the four major Russian cinema networks, Karo, into perspective.
“Since the arrival of Hollywood in Russia, 30 years ago, we have gone through a lot of crises: political, economic, the pandemic…”, she says.
Since the start of the offensive in Ukraine on February 24, the number of admissions to its 35 theaters has fallen by 70%, while the average price of a seat (300 rubles, or about $4.50) n hasn’t changed in five years.
The State has already promised to double its financial support for film production and to minimize the tax burden as well as the cost of renting rooms, rejoices the president of the network, who seems very small in the huge red Oktiabr room, one of the largest in Europe with its 1500 seats, now empty.
The Russians, deprived of blockbusters Americans, “will explore themselves more deeply”, however wants to believe Olga Ziniakova, who cites the success of the cult Russian film of the 1990s, Brat (Brother), returned to the poster.
Its network is also preparing to program Asian titles, but also Latin American ones.
“And when Hollywood comes back here, the Russian market and viewers won’t be the same,” she predicts.
Hostage to politics
The departure of the Hollywood giants did not surprise Pavel Doreouli, 44, whose Atmosfera studio creates soundscapes for around fifteen films a year.
“For years, world cinema has been hostage to big politics,” said this sound designer, member since 2020 of the international organization “Sound editors for cinema” (MPSE).
“Cannes or Berlin no longer reward films, but their position”, he tackles, in reference to two international film festivals, which condemned Russia for its offensive in Ukraine.
“Deprived of international festivals, the Russians will renounce auteur cinema which offers a different vision of the world, so precious today”, he predicts.