Screening of the Oscar-winning animated film Flow has been banned in Russia and Belarus following an agreement with the Charades sales agency, the film’s producer and co-author, Matiss Kaza, has told the LETA news agency.
LETA has observed that information about the movie remains available on numerous Russian and Belarusian portals, including the websites of several cinemas. The film has also been available for illegal download from various portals. The website of the Belarusian Falcon Club cinema, too, promotes screenings of Flow.
Kaza admitted that the screening of Flow in the two countries is nothing new and that other films have faced the same situation.
“We won the Golden Globe and now the Oscar for a family film without dialogue, and I suppose it might be tempting enough to do something like that,” said Kaza.
In an official statement to director Gints Zilbalodis, Charade affirmed that it has never sold, signed or given any type of consent to permit the commercial distribution or screening of the film in Belarus and Russia.
The company says that its refusal to co-operate with organisations in Russia and Belarus was the result of a conversation that it had with Zilbalodis prior to the film’s debut at the “Un Certain Regard” section of the Cannes Film Festival last year. It was there that distributers of films in Russia and Belarus displayed an interest in Flow.
“Under no circumstances will we go against your wishes,” Charades told Zilbalodis. “We will contact cinemas that are illegally showing the film in Russia and Belarus to try to stop the screening of Flow.”
Flow is a three-country co-production involving Dream Well Studio from Latvia, Sacrebleu Productions from France and the Belgian studio Take Five.
Source: BNS
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