Rudolf Nureyev’s Film Festival was held in Paris

UFA, 10 December 2018. /Bashinform News Agency/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/. A film festival dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Rudolf Nureyev and the Year of Ballet in Russia came to an end in Paris. It was held at the Russian Center for Science and Culture under the auspices of the Federal Agency "Rossotrudnichestvo", and became the first point in the foreign tour of the International Project "Nureyev Seasons". The film festival gathered almost all films about the great artist, as well as unique footage where he was filmed.

As Alfiya Chebotareva, the head of the “Nureyev Seasons” international project, said, film screenings as part of the project began early this year, first in Moscow - at the State Kremlin Palace, the Moscow Conservatory and the Tretyakov Gallery. The first foreign city where they continued was Paris, the city that played a decisive role in the Rudolf Nureyev’s destiny.

The opening of the film festival was a great success and was attended by the figures representing the best talents in the world art.

“On the very first day of the festival, viewers saw a film specially prepared for screening in France with translation into French - the “Visit” feature film produced by the Bashkortostan film studio, filmed in 2013 by Bashkir film director Bulat Yusupov and production director Ildar Bikmetov. The film has got a great welcome from the Paris audience”, said Gulchachak Khannanova, head of the press center of the Bashkortostan Embassy in Moscow.

In the following days, the festival presented several surprises for art lovers. Thus, in the film-ballet “Venice, Carnival, Love” (1982), Rudolf Nureyev played his last movie role together with the Italian ballet star Carla Fracci. This unique film was presented at the Venice Film Festival, but has never been shown in Russia and France. Another rarity was a documentary “Rudolf Nureyev - As He Is”, filmed by director Nikolai Boronin (1991) - the only Russian film about actor that was made during his lifetime. Within the framework of the film festival, meetings of the audience with Nureyev's French friends, presentation of books about him, photo expositions with rare pictures of the great artist were held.

The “Nureyev Seasons” will continue in Germany, the Benelux countries, and Italy. In 2019 it is planned to hold film screenings in other Russian and foreign cities, which are closely connected with the life and work of Nureyev, including in Ufa.