The Russian Film Week in London has come to its grand finale after more than 30 screenings at different venues (including extra screenings due to high popular demand) and the glamourous Golden Unicorn Awards Ceremony held in celebration of the best in Russian film-making and foreign films about Russia in the last 18 months. By showing the most exciting and critically acclaimed Russian films from the past 18 months, the festival aimed to inform and educate viewers about the richness, depth and variety of contemporary Russian filmmaking, to reach out to audiences above and beyond all cultural or political barriers, and to bridge the seemingly growing gap between East and West. Each screening was followed by Q&As with film directors, producers and actors, who arrived from Russia and other parts of the world specifically to take part in the festival. A variety of satellite events, such as master-classes, talks, a special Co-Production Day for the industry specialists from Russia and the UK, exhibitions and much more were held across London. The Golden Unicorn Awards ceremony was sponsored by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and held at the Langham ballroom in the presence of more than 40 well-known Russian film stars, directors and producers and a number of their renowned British counterparts, with international star Olga Kurylenko and socialite and writer Lady Colin Campbell also present and a special appearance by Ozwald Boateng. “These awards, - said Filip Perkon, Russian Film Week General Producer and founder, – were created to recognize the efforts of film-makers from Russia and the world alike, as well as to promote the production worldwide of Russiathemed films, encouraging cultural exchange and growth”. The Golden Unicorn Awards form an integral part of the Russian Film Week. The awards jury consisting of 9 renowned international film-makers, film scholars and critics had selected films for the awards in 8 different categories with 2 special awards for 2016: Best Emerging Talent and Award for Promotion of Russian Culture. There were five or more contenders in each category. Andrew Jack, chair of the jury, said: ""We were delighted to select the winners, which - like several strong runners up - showcase high quality Russian films, actors, directors and writing deserving a broad international audience. There were also some excellent foreign submissions based in and about Russia - both drama and documentary. We look forward to even more strong contenders next year."" There is also an Audience Choice Award. Viewers were given special cards after each screening to rate the films. The results are displayed on the RFW website: http://russianfilmweek.org The winners of the 2016 Golden Unicorn Awards are: Best Film: The Student (Dir. Kirill Serebrennikov) Best Actor: Piotr Skvortsov (The Student) Best Actress: Renata Litvinova (About Love) Best Screenplay: About Love (Andrei Migachev, Anna Melikyan, Vlad Malakhov) Best Foreign Film Set in Russia: War and Peace Best Documentary: Roentgenizdat (Dir. Stephen Coates, Paul Heartfield) Best Short: 8 (Dir. Anna Melikyan) Best Animation: Sheep & Wolves Special Awards 2016: Best Emerging Talent: Semyon Treskunov (The Good Boy) Best Contribution to Promoting Russian Culture: Ralph Fiennes Ralph Fiennes has sent a phone video recording, where he is seen standing in the falling snow in front of the Kirov Palace of Culture in St Petersburg: “I am honoured and delighted to receive the Golden Unicorn award. The reason I’m not there is because I’m in St Petersburg for the International Cultural Forum to celebrate the Year of cinema. I’m also trying to raise money for a Russian coproduction. […]I had a rich and unforgettable experience working on the Russian film Two Women. I hope never to lose a true connection with Russian filmmaking. Film can cross borders and political ideologies. So many great Russian film-makers have shed light on our human predicament. I hope they continue to do so.” A special RFW General Producer’s Golden Unicorn Award went to Cultural Solidarity Media “for the dedication and effort in making this event a true celebration of Russian cinema and Russian cultural heritage”. The viewers rated Territory (Dir. Alexander Melnik) as the best film in the Audience Choice category. Julia Stannard, the producer of the BBC adaptation of War and Peace, accepting the Best Foreign Film about Russia, said: ""It is a great honour that our version of Tolstoy's masterpiece has been recognised and embraced by a Russian audience"". She expressed gratitude on behalf of the filming crew to Globus Film, the production company from St Petersburg for their assistance in getting access to the city’s beautiful historical houses and magnificent palaces. Stephen Coates, the director of the Best Documentary award winner Roentgenizdat, a film about music-mad bootleggers in Soviet times, who created records of forbidden foreign songs on used X-ray film, said that he was thrilled and grateful for this recognition of his team’s work and mentioned that he was working on a documentary about the film scores of the great Soviet composer Mikael Tariverdiev and was happy to submit it for the next year's awards. The Golden Unicorn Award gala evening was held in support of the Gift of Life UK (Registered in England and Wales, 1140638). Gift of Life UK and its sister charity Podari Zhizn were co-founded by two Russian actresses Dina Korzun and Chulpan Khamatova, respectively in Britain and in Russia. The charity auction held at the gala collected £80500 for the charity foundation. Dina Korzun, the Gift of Life UK patron, Podari Zhizn co-founder and Golden Unicorn Awards jury member said: “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Russian Film Week and Golden Unicorn Awards organising committee for supporting Gift of Life and for our wonderful partnership! We are extremely grateful to Perkon Productions and the team for the amazing charity auction which raised £80,500 to buy foreign medicines for children with cancer under care of Gift of Life and its sister charity in Russia, Podari Zhizn.” One of the auction lots – an opportunity to star in a film directed by the renowned Russian actress and director Renata Litvinova – was sold for £30000.
