Leviathan (Russia) (WINNER)
Force Majeure (Sweden)
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (France)
Ida (Poland)
Tangerines (Estonia)
Andrei Zvyagintsev, the director of the Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe winning film Leviathan, has complained that he cannot find investors for his new projects.
“The current economic conditions [in Russia] are miserable, and investment in the film industry is declining,” Zvyagintsev was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency TASS. “It’s difficult for me to understand what to do next. All projects that I am interested in require substantial budgets.”
Zvyagintsev added that he isn’t sure if he will be able to find investors in his new projects, as they don’t belong to “entertaining cinema.”
According to the director, he is currently considering three projects, one of which is set during WWII, another one in 11th century Russia and the third in ancient Greece.
Leviathan, which won the best screenplay award at Cannes last year, a Golden Globe for best foreign-language film and an Oscar nomination in the same category, stirred controversy at home. Many, including the culture ministry, accused Zvyagintsev of showing Russia in a negative way.
Later, the ministry said it would still consider funding applications for Zvyagintsev’s projects, but the director has repeatedly accused the ministry of censorship and stressed he was not interested in making movies the way Russian officials want directors to.
