Call for a boycott of Russian cinema

Call for a boycott of Russian cinema

Started
February 25, 2022
Petition to
Film Institutions and Film Professionals
Signatures: 10,467Next Goal: 15,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by Ukrainian Film Academy

Dear Film Institutions and Film Professionals! 

We, the members of the Ukrainian Film Academy, on behalf of the society of Ukrainian film professionals and cultural figures call for a boycott of Russian cinematography.

As you know, since February 2014, the Russian Federation has been waging war against Ukraine, acting as an aggressor. Russia annexed the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and occupied parts of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, territories belonging to Ukraine. The Russian regime regularly commits war crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population, both in the above-mentioned regions and in the adjacent territories.

On February 21, 2022, the Russian Federation recognized the independent quasi-republics "DPR" and "LPR" - within the territories of both occupied and controlled by Ukraine. And also deployed troops here. On February 24-25, Russia launched rocket attacks across Ukraine and launched an armed offensive in five oblasts, including its own and Belarus' borders, as well as Crimea.

The outbreak of war in Ukraine is an attack on a civilized world with a democratic system, a crime committed in the heart of Europe.

But at a time when world powers are imposing economic and political sanctions on the Russian Federation, the country continues to be active in the cultural field. In particular, several films made by Russia are regularly admitted to the programs of most world film festivals, and significant resources are spent on their promotion.

The result of this activity is not only the spread of propaganda messages and distorted facts. It also boosts the loyalty of Russian culture – the culture of the aggressor state, which unleashed unjustified and unprovoked war in central Europe. Even the very presence of Russian films in the program of world film festivals creates the illusion of Russia's involvement in the values of the civilized world.

Given the above facts, we encourage:

Council of Europe – to exclude Russia from the Eurimages and terminate co-production agreements with it. We also call for the exclusion of the Russian Federation from the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production.

festivals – not to allow in the competition and non-competition programs films produced by the Russian Federation or in co-production with it.

International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) - to deprive the Moscow International Film Festival of FIAPF accreditation.

producers – to terminate any business with business entities of the Russian Federation and not to transfer intellectual property rights to any films to the territory of the Russian Federation. We urge you to terminate all contracts with them. Remember that the business that will use your films pays taxes to the Russian budget, which finances the army that violated the borders of an independent state, and buys missiles to bomb the civilian population of Europe.

distributors – draw your attention to the fact that under the contracts you enter into the territory of the Russian Federation - the films are illegally distributed to the legal territory of Ukraine, namely: the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea, and the so-called "DPR" and "LPR". By issuing such licenses (in particular, making kmd keys for cinemas), you are in fact violating Ukrainian sovereignty. After all, now films are circulating in these territories under contracts in which these territories are recognized as territories of the Russian Federation.

CEPI (the European Audiovisual Production association) аnd CFP-E (European Federation for Commercial Film Producers) - calls on the members of the association to cease any cooperation with audiovisual producers who support aggression against Ukraine, in particular the distribution of audiovisual works in the member countries with the participation of actors and public figures supporting the russian crime.

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Signatures: 10,467Next Goal: 15,000
Support now
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Decision Makers

  • Film Institutions and Film Professionals