RUSSIA! THE DRAMA OF ART IN TWELVE EPISODES
Press screening

July 19, 2007 at 17:00
Collegium Hall
Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography
7 Gnezdnikovsky Lane, Moscow

From Press Release

Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation
Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography
Art Media Center "TV Gallery"
with the support of Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Present
RUSSIA! THE DRAMA of ART in 12 EPISODES
2007
Screenwriter, director and producer Nina Zaretskaya

This film (111 minutes) is based on the materials of RUSSIA!, the most comprehensive exhibition of Russian art ever shown in the United States, presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museums in New York and the Guggenheim-Hermitage Museum in Las Vegas in 2005 and at the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum in 2006.

RUSSIA! exhibition has been realized under the patronage of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The opening of the exhibition coincided with the start of the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. High-ranking delegations from Russian Federation and the United States visited the exhibition. This footage was included in the film, for example, the speech of the Russian President Putin at the official opening ceremony.

This innovative exhibition featured more than 250 greatest masterworks of Russian art from all major Russian art museums.

This film highlights the importance of this event in the cultural and historical context. Only the detailed and expert analysis of the works of art created in different periods allows to perceive the connection between the stages of development of the Russian culture, therefore the outstanding art curators, art historians and critics from the United States and Russia were invited to participate in this documentary. Their talks are accompanied by rich content visual footage which includes fragments from movies, newsreel footage and filmed art masterpieces.

The event includes the charity action that will give you a chance to buy the DVD of the film. A portion of the proceeds from the DVD sale will be donated to the Lifeline Russian charity program that finances the heart surgery for severely ill children. This charity program has been in operation since 2004. The purpose of this national program for children up to 15 year old is to decrease the mortality from the grave heart and brain diseases that could be cured by high technology intervention. About 1,400 Russian children have been saved due to this program, and donations from individuals and organizations amounted to $7.5 million. But the program needs more help!