EMIR KUSTURICA TO SHOOT COMMERCIAL FOR RUSSIAN KETCHUP BALTIMOR

MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's major ketchup producer Baltimor has proposed to famous filmmaker Emir Kusturica making a commercial for its sauce. Guy Ritchie's BMW commercials have become classic and Federico Fellini's Campari videos are recorded on DVDs with his movies as bonus tracks. Advertising plays a key role at such a competitive market as ketchup (beer, vermouth) production, Vedomosti says.

Baltimor's advertising expenditures cannot compete with the world leader Heinz. However, the Russian company with a $100 million turnover can afford a prominent director.

Baltimor does not know what Cannes laureate Kusturica is going to do but anyway it will not lose - the Serbian filmmaker is in a perfect creative shape which was proved by his latest film Life Is A Miracle.

Having invited Kusturica, Baltimor claims that it is ready to enter a new quality level to surpass other Russian companies striving for leadership.

The movie When Father Was Away on Business (1985) brought Kusturica the world fame. He won the Golden Palm in Cannes and chairman of the jury Milos Forman said that Kusturica was the hope of the European and world cinematography. In 1995 Emir Kusturica released one of his best films Underground and won the Golden Palm again. He is also a musician and plays the guitar in The No Smoking Orchestra which gave a very successful concert in Moscow recently.