Influential Ukrainian Producer Denis Ivanov Pens Letter From Kyiv Backing Russian Cinema Boycott: “It’s Not The Right Time For Red Carpets For Our Dear Russian Colleagues”

Brent Renaud has sadly died.

J. Kim Murphy The Kyiv-based Molodist International Film Festival has penned an open letter to the film community calling on other festivals to join in a boycott of Russian films as a response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces.The festival’s statement cites an ongoing effort by modern Russia to “separate culture from politics” and to “[use] that same culture to distract the West from Russia’s wars, human rights violations, censorship and persecution of political dissidents.”“There are Russian filmmakers and intellectuals who have been truly vocal in their dissent and criticism of Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine throughout these years, and we know some of them personally,” the statement reads.

EXCLUSIVE: The biggest Ukrainian media organizations have penned an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urging sanctions on all Russian TV channels.

For love of country. Mila Kunis, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and more Ukrainian celebrities are taking a stand and showing support for their homeland amid the unrest in Ukraine.

We are so sad to report that Ukrainian actor Pasha Lee was reportedly killed while fighting Russian forces in his homeland.

Ukrainian film star Pasha Lee has reportedly died while defending his country against the ongoing Russian invasion.

Pavlo Li on his U.S. IMDb page, was killed in the Ukranian city of Irpin on March 6, according to Ukranian journalist Sergiy Tomilenko and a post by the Odesa International Film Festival.More to come …

Naman Ramachandran As the invasion of Ukraine continues, seven leading Ukrainian filmmakers allege complicity by the Russian artistic community. They are now calling for cultural sanctions against Russia.Valentyn Vasyanovych, director (“Black Level,” “Atlantis,” “Reflection”)Insidious shelling of residential areas with civilians, as well as blackmail of nuclear weapons – is a manifestation of the powerless rage of the fascist regime of Russia and the lack of chances to defeat the Ukrainian army and people in a direct military confrontation.The whole bloody history of Russia, as imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet, is based on the bloodthirsty attitude towards its neighbors and its people, who have never been united ethnically or culturally.

Deadline). “Life has changed in an instant with the fall of the first bomb on the territory of Ukraine. Everything we knew about Hitler’s invasion has now become real again.”Sentsov’s latest film “Rhino” was just released in Ukraine two weeks ago, his first movie after he had been imprisoned for five years in Russia in 2014 for fighting against Vladimir Putin’s regime and the annexation of Crimea.

Oleg Sentsov, the Ukrainian filmmaker and activist whose latest feature was the 2021 Venice premiere Rhino, has released a full statement from the frontline of the war backing the boycott of Russian cinema. Scroll down to read it.

Christopher Vourlias Denis Ivanov, the Ukrainian producer of critically acclaimed films including Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy’s “The Tribe,” Sergey Loznitsa’s “Donbass” and Oleh Sentsov’s “Rhino,” has penned an impassioned letter against Russia’s war in Ukraine, describing it as a “genocide against Ukrainians” and accusing the Russian military of war crimes.In the letter, Ivanov gave his full-throated support to a boycott on Russian films, demanding “no more ‘business as usual’ with Putin’s Russia.”“I think some festival selectors, film professionals and cultural managers just do not get what is happening in Ukraine,” he wrote, in light of an ongoing campaign by the Russian military that has escalated in recent days. “This war of aggression by the Russians has turned into a war on independence and a war for values and rights.

Naman Ramachandran Ukrainian film producer and co-founder of the Ukrainian Film Academy Julia Sinkevych (“Heat Singers”) has been selected as jury president for this year’s Series Mania Festival and its international competition. “She has always been committed to supporting Ukrainian artists and the culture of her country from Kyiv, where she lives,” the festival said in a statement.

Ukrainian-born former Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy was arrested and released in his home country during the ongoing Russian invasion, and is now making plans to leave Kyiv.

The Glasgow Film Festival has withdrawn two Russian titles from its 2022 program in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Change.org petition created Friday, the Academy asked several European and international filmmaking institutions, producers and distributors to terminate business dealings with the Russian Federation. “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,” reads the statement.

The Ukrainian Film Academy, which represents the nation’s filmmaking professionals, is calling for an international boycott of Russian cinema in light of Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine. In a Change.org petition created Friday, the Academy asked several European and international filmmaking institutions, producers and distributors to terminate their business with the Russian Federation.“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,” reads part of the introduction.