ABOUT THE RUSSIAN FILM WEEK:

Russian Film Week in New York (RFWNY) was co-founded and successfully re-launched by the 501(c) (3) non-profit arts organization, Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation (USA) and Rock Studio Films (Russia) in 2018. This partnership aims to develop a multi-state, annual week-long showcase, in an effort to present independent, commercial, documentary and arthouse Russian films with subtitles to mainstream US audiences.

Over 18 events were presented during the first Russian Film Week in December of 2018, including free and paid screenings, movie premieres, screenings and events for kids, free community events, panels, Q&A discussions with artists and directors, press events, and opening/closing night private/semi-private receptions. In June of 2019, Russian Film Week in New York started a new initiative to promote Russian movies: we presented free screenings of two Russian films (with subtitles) at New York’s Wolfe’s Pond Park in Staten Island, as part of the NY City Council’s Cultural Initiative, supported by New York City Councilman Joseph C. Borelli (district 51).

ABOUT THE FOUNDERS:

Rock Studio Films was founded in 1991 by film director Alexey Uchitel. Since then, the studio has produced over 45 feature and documentary films which have received over 100 awards at international film festivals, and were distributed theatrically both in Russia and abroad. The films include The Major (Cannes Film Festival) and The Fool (Locarno) by Yury Bykov, More by Alexandra Strelyanaya (Karlovy Vary), and others. Besides film production, Rock Studio Films is involved in two additional festivals – Message To Man in Saint Petersburg and Russian Film Week in London.

Cherry Orchard Festival (CherryOrchardFestival.org) is a leading independent international arts organization with a solid reputation for presenting musical performances, theatrical productions, multi-disciplinary performing and visual arts attractions by a stunning array of global artists to audiences in the US. Founded by Maria Shclover and Irina Shabshis in 2013, the festival is now embarking on its 8th season and has presented more than 55 unique world-class events, concerts and theatrical performances to over 90,000 audience members.