A Study of Key Trends in Russian Cinema for 2022~2023

Abstract

This article is an attempt to examine Russian cinema as a whole in 2022-2023. Among the main trends in Russian cinema over the past two years, the first thing to be noted is its relationship to contemporary Russian society and history. Many of the Russian films that received high praise at home and abroad, were selected for prestigious international film festivals, including Cannes and Rotterdam, and were presented at major Russian film festivals or won prizes. In this article, we will focus on Kirill Serebrennikov's The Wife of Chaikovsky, which was selected in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, The Bullfinch(2023), directed by Boris Hlebnikov, one of the most important auteurs of contemporary Russian cinema, which was the opening film of the 2023 Moscow International Film Festival, Fairy Tail(2022), which had its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, by Alexander Sokurov, who is considered a master not only of contemporary Russian cinema but also of world cinema, and finally, The Camel's Wayh, by Vitaly Suslin, who is one of the most Russian filmmakers of his generation and has built a unique body of work based on a very Russian setting. The second major trend in contemporary Russian cinema that I will discuss is the emergence of Russian regional cinema. I will analyze the film Pardon(2023), directed by Ainur Askarov from Bashkortostan, Plague(2023), directed by Yakutian director Dmitry Davydov, one of the most highly regarded films by international critics, and Aita (2023), directed by Yakutian director Stepan Burnashev. Contemporary Russian cinema is characterized by diversity, locality, and the presence of female directors. In other words, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian cinema has achieved unprecedented diversity, and not only central filmmakers centered in Moscow and Petersburg, but also local filmmakers including Yakutia are actively producing works.