MOSCOW, September 7 (RIA Novosti) – Russian film-maker Andrei Konchalovsky won the best director silver lion during Saturday’s 71st Venice Film Festival on for his movie “The Postman’s White Nights”, to be released in France, Portugal and Poland - distributors noted the high interest of foreign buyers to the picture.
Reel of the film was also awarded the Green Drop Award, a prize recognizing movies, which devote special attention to environmental values.
“The movie "The Postman’s White Nights" has moved into foreign territory and is currently available in the Toronto film market, showing at a theater called Russian Cinema. The screening is organized by the movie with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation,” Russian Cinema stand said during a press conference on Sunday.
Anton Mazurov, chairman of Antipode Sales and Distribution, which owns the movie's global distribution rights, notes that foreign buyers are showing an active interest in the movie.
“Konchalovsky’s creativity, the Venice Film Festival award, and two years of our work as a sales-agent have created a successful combination. All rights (the picture will be released in theaters) have already been sold to France - a crucial area for the European film distribution, Portugal and Poland. Negotiations are underway with those who are present in the Toronto film market as well as those not," says Mazurov, who was quoted in the press-service.
He added that Western interest from the United States and Canada is not as strong as Europeans’, a sentiment particularly noticeable after the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis.
Russian Cinema stand joined 14 local companies promoting Russian art and animation movies in foreign countries. Stand began its work on September 4 and will continue until the close of its 39th International Film Festival in Toronto on September 14.
