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A series of film screenings of director's works of the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio as part of a large-scale educational project of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly takes place non-stop in different regions of Russia. The films of the Vladimir Menshov International Film Festival “Won Together” were watched by thousands of schoolchildren and students in eight cities starting from Moscow and the Moscow region to the shores of the Black and Caspian Seas. The film marathon is held with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and sets important goals for the preservation of historical memory, the formation among young people of values that coincide with the ethical and cultural development of society.
Basic Film Library is the largest documentary film festival in the CIS, in which over three hundred professionals participate, where more than a third represent the foreign film and television industry. As part of the Sochi festival “Won Together” in November 2023, more than 150 films were shown, and the best of them in various genres, figuratively speaking, walk around the country all year.
In June, students of the First Moscow Cadet Corps watched three films of the film marathon. Documentary drama directed by Fyodor Babenko “The Siege Book of Recipes” is the opening film of the XVIII Vladimir Menshov International Film Festival “Won Together” in 2023. The film is an understanding of the meaning of things available to us today thanks to the feat of besieged Leningrad and Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Let a modern person, even for 10 minutes, look at the surrounding reality through the eyes of people who, according to the Nazi Ost plan, were supposed to be killed by starvation, but they managed to survive and win, and one will understand the true value of what seems like trifles. This allows us to preserve the memory of the Blockade and look at the familiar things available to us with new eyes.
The film “Not for Glory” by Vyacheslav Serkez tells about Lieutenant Ivan Afanasyev, who commanded the defense of Pavlov’s House during the Battle of Stalingrad. At the end of the war, he lost his sight as a result of the consequences of wounds and concussions. Being a modest man, Ivan Afanasyev, unfortunately, did not receive the fame or awards he deserved, and the film pays tribute to the real hero. This film was awarded the prize of the XVI Vladimir Menshov IFF “Won Together” in 2021.
The film “Champions” by Marina Chuvailova tells about the sports feat of young Russian girls. In 2019, the Yunost team from Yekaterinburg became the three-time world champion in synchronized skating among juniors for the third time in a row. After which the young figure skaters, led by their permanent coach Natalya Sannikova, began training on a new program for the next World Cup, overcoming falls, pain, insults and tears and spending an incredible amount of strength, energy, labor and health for the sake of a future victory. This picture is a finalist of the XVII Vladimir Menshov International Film Festival “Won Together” in 2022.
In Sochi, the documentary film “Duel. Final” by Sergei Golovetsky, a member of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation, a member of the Board of the Association of Documentary Films. The film is dedicated to the long-term confrontation between Soviet and American athletes. The director reflected the most striking matches of the Cold War era and the stories of achievements of USSR athletes who proved with their hard work what a person can achieve. UETC students were able to communicate live with the director of the film, Sergei Golovetsky, and share their emotions from the film they watched. After the screening, experts from the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly presented a certificate of honor to the director of the technical school, Vladimir Demirchyan, for his active assistance in holding the Vladimir Menshov International Film Festival “Won Together” and assistance in promoting documentary films on social, cultural and historical topics.
The I. S. Turgenev Library-Reading Room in Moscow, as part of regular open meetings of the Eurasian Film Club “Documentary Thursday” hosted a screening of the film “VGIK. Militia" by the famous screenwriter and director Ekaterina Golovnya. The Moscow militia wrote bright pages in the history of the Great Patriotic War. Bright already because of what filled its ranks in the fall of 1941 - students, graduates and professors of leading Moscow universities, including VGIK students. Few survived the battles for the capital, but those who survived told how it was. This film is about the feat of Muscovites who, not knowing how to fight, went to defend Moscow. Among them are screenwriter Leonid Braslavsky and film director Grigory Chukhrai. Also in the film are the memories of Mikhail Kruk, the son of the vice-rector of VGIK - Alexander Kruk and others. In November, students of the camera department, under the leadership of dean Alexander Kruk, joined the militia and all died. Alexander Karlovich's son Mikhail Kruk left to fight in the navy two days before his father. They never met their father again. They came to the 13th Rostokinsky division of the Moscow people's militia in the first days of the Great Patriotic War. “Their ranks thinned and diminished. They were killed, they were forgotten. And yet, to the music of the Earth, they were brought into a bright remembrance...”
The debut of “The Voice of Oleron” about the unification of Soviet prisoners of war and Russian emigrants of the French Resistance, at the request of the audience at the Institute of Contemporary Art, was presented by the author himself - a teacher at the Moscow State Law Academy and the Russian State University for the Humanities, historian Stepan Reshetnikov. It is interesting that after the release of the film, a book about this story was published in France, based on the facts described in the film, which premiered as part of the international documentary film competition of the XVIII Vladimir Menshov IFF “Won Together”. The audience did not let go of the director for an hour and a half, his film about the international battles on the island of Oleron made such a strong impression. The director spoke about the extraordinary characters of the film and the history of its creation.
The documentary film “Heavenly Crimea”, with the support of the rector of the Institute Irina Sukholet, was watched by about 35 students of the film department, after which a discussion took place with multiple laureate of international film festivals Sergei Debizhev. Over the course of two days – June 17 and 18 – in Makhachkala, as part of the “Won Together” film marathon, the above-mentioned drama about the Leningrad Siege directed by Fyodor Babenko was shown. Also, in the capital of Dagestan the films “Avdeev. Open Space" directed by Maxim Kuznetsov. The film was presented by Hero of Russia, cosmonaut Sergei Avdeev, who spoke about his experience on the International Space Station. Belarusian film “For our “Victory”. From Dream to Legend,” directed by Ekaterina Sharomet, was presented online by its producer Vladimir Bokun. Film "Fifteen" Wild Division of Donbass” about the history of the fighters of the battalion defending the independence of Donbass since 2014 was presented by director Marina Kim. “Thanks to every fighter who, during a break between battle and sleep, chose us to share their thoughts and emotions. Thank you to commander Akhra Avidzba for your care on the set and your frankness on camera!” said the director, greeted by applause from the audience.
The film “The Eagle Rises into the Sky” directed by Valeria Lovkova about the Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General of Aviation Alexei Blagoveshchensky, continued the theme of military spirit. Professor of the St. Petersburg University of Cinema and Television Vitaly Potemkin conducted a master class. The first cadet corps on the basis of the Patriot JCC watched the documentary “Battle for Crimea” at a practical field training in Tuchkovo near Moscow. A famous director from Krasnodar, Valery Timoschenko, got in touch with the guys; almost all of his films can be seen on the Kultura TV channel. “The Battle of Crimea” is undoubtedly one of the most complex in concept and one of the most brilliant operations in the entire world military history. Beginning in the autumn of 1943, the peninsula was defended by the strongest 17th Army of the Wehrmacht. And if the Red Army had not been able to maintain the rapid pace of the offensive that began at Stalingrad, then the Nazi defensive plans of 1943-1944 were a serious test for our troops. The film tells the story of the battles for the peninsula, starting with the defense of Crimea and ending with complete liberation in May 1944. History is reflected in real human destinies. The story about the battles for the peninsula is based on personal stories of scouts, tank crews, pilots, and marines who took part in the battle. The cadets asked many questions, they wondered whether the director’s relatives took part in hostilities, when the film was shot, drawing parallels with modern times, and where there were so many interesting chronicles in the film. The guys also watched a film about the battalion “Fifteen”; director Marina Kim got in touch online. This month, the movie marathon has already covered eight Russian cities and there are more screenings. This is already a tradition of partners of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly.
