The screening of the film “Leviathan” by director Andrey Zvyagintsev, which was awarded for its screenplay this spring at the Cannes Film Festival, marked the opening of the second edition of the Russian Film Festival, which will take place from September 22 to 28 at the [Cinémathèque de Nice](https://www.cinematheque-nice.com/).
This event is organized by the Gosfilmofond—the central film archive in Russia—and offers screenings of original films, both recent and older, in their original versions with French subtitles from the State Film Fund of Russia’s archives, along with meetings with the actors and directors of the films.
The Gosfilmofond of Russia, a federal public and budgetary institution funded by the state on par with the Bolshoi and the Hermitage Museum, manages the central film archives in Russia. This national state fund, located in Domodedovo near Moscow, is dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and dissemination of Russian film heritage. With nearly 70,000 titles and 450,000 non-film elements (posters, original scripts, photographs), it constitutes the largest film collection establishment in the world.
Last night in a preview event, the people of Nice were invited to attend the Festival’s opening night at the “Rialto” cinema, with a screening of Leviathan.
After the critical and public success last year, with more than 5,000 visitors, the people of Nice will once again have the opportunity this week to see original films from the Russian cinema archives. Enthusiasts will even have the choice of 30 films that will be shown at the Cinémathèque, in several cases with the presence of artists from the Russian delegation led by Ms. Larisa Andreeva, deputy director general of the Gosfilmofond.
This festival is particularly dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of the poet and novelist Mikhail Lermontov, an emblematic figure of Russian romanticism, and the 100th anniversary of World War I, illustrated by films depicting these events.
With three screenings per day (at 4 PM, 6 PM, and 8 PM), fans of the seventh art and Russian culture will have ample opportunities to satisfy their curiosity.
