MOSCOW, April 20 MIFF President Nikita Mikhalkov urged not to punish artists who left Russia.
«Maybe few understand that this is a tragedy. It seems that everyone is waiting for you. These are victims of an illusion — charming, porcelain smiles … I'm not in favor of punishing anyone. Sincere understanding, remorse, not connected only with the fact that again start performing tax-free at corporate parties, it won’t work today,” Mikhalkov said at a briefing, speaking about the departed artists.
In his opinion, in difficult times one must be with one's country. “Not the Russian who is with the country when it is rich, and when it is in misfortune, stays with the country … He really worries. He spoke and spoke, cursed and cursed, the money ran out. you have to be with the country,» Mikhalkov said.
According to him, he is very grateful for the sanctions. «Today's world in which we live shows how we live, who is who and what is what,» said the president of the MIFF.
In his opinion, crises and sanctions are connected with a lack of understanding of the situation by those who create them. «Any crises open up opportunities … Of course, from the point of view of ideology in relation to us, what they say there … there is nothing good in this, but in principle it comes from ignorance and misunderstanding of the situation,» Mikhalkov said.
In his opinion, the cultural sphere of Russia has acquired a lot in the new political conditions. “If we talk about acquisitions, we have not stopped. You can have different attitudes towards Cheburashka, but this is a movie that you can watch. In general, a good movie is one that people go to several times,” he said. Mikhalkov also called the unique experience of shooting the film «The Challenge» in orbit.