MOSCOW, March 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's lower house of parliament rejected in the first reading a bill to impose a 40% minimum limit for the screening of Russian films at cinemas to support national film-makers, who are unable to withstand competition from foreign films.
Proposed by the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, the bill was supported by 119 votes out of the 226 needed for it to be passed.
Stanislav Govorukhin, a member of parliament's culture committee and a film director, said the bill touched upon a very important issue. However, he said that imposing quotas would restrict cinemas' business operations. "The point is not the quantity of films, but the number of screenings," Govorukhin said. To fill cinema halls, Russia would need to produce 52 popular films a year, or one film a week.
