Sokurov’s film was published on the Sobchak channel, the distribution of which is prohibited

On Sunday, journalist Ksenia Sobchak’s YouTube channel “Caution: Sobchak” published the film “Fairy Tale” directed by Alexander Sokurov, which was previously denied a distribution certificate by the Ministry of Culture.

As Sobchak wrote in her Telegram channel, on November 19, her publication “Ostrozhno media” organized a closed screening of the film “Fairy Tale” and a discussion about the film in Moscow. The discussion of the film with the participation of Sokurov himself was also published on the Sobchak YouTube channel, with the participation of Nobel Laureate Dmitry Muratov, journalist Yury Saprykin, director Andrey Smirnov, former judge of the Constitutional Court Tamara Morshchakova, director and husband of Sobchak Konstantin Bogomolov and others.

The main characters of the film are Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Winston Churchill, who meet in hell. To depict these characters, Sokurov used footage from the documentary chronicle and texts of their real things. According to Muratov, the film showed the “subconsciousness of dictators”, who have “no remorse” for the deaths of people who died due to their fault. Without speaking directly about modern Russia, Muratov said: “When a strong government forces the government to die for it, it does not allow the country to become beloved.”

“This is the director’s first film that was not given a distribution certificate in Russia. Officials from the Ministry of Culture referred to “other cases determined by law”. In fact, they refused without explaining the reasons. Now each of you has the opportunity to try to understand why such a decision was made and how adequate it is,” Sobchak writes in his Telegram channel.

• On October 13, it became known that the Ministry of Culture of Russia banned the screening of Alexander Sokurov’s film “Fairytale” at the international festival KARO.Art. The reason for the cancellation is unknown. Sokurov suggested that the authorities would also impose an unspoken ban on showing his earlier films. The next day it became known that the film was refused a distribution certificate. The director called it “another stage of censorship”.
• Alexander Sokurov, especially in recent years, criticizes the Russian authorities. In December 2021, during a meeting of the Human Rights Council, Sokurov had a conflict with President Vladimir Putin. In his speech, the director spoke about the fact that Russia needs to be changed, that there are many problems in the country that cannot be solved, and they cannot be buried in the sand. At the meeting, Sokurov also touched on the topic of the possible separation of the regions of the North Caucasus from Russia. Putin, who has known Sokurov since the 1990s, expressed his sharp disagreement with the director in response. Sokurov told Sever.Realii that he was upset that “the interlocutor did not understand what” the director was saying. Sokurov later apologized for the dispute with the president and told about the threats he received. Alexander Sokurov is still a member of the Human Rights Council, however, as he himself said, since December 2021 he has not had the opportunity to speak with the president, although Putin promised to meet with him.