Russia reveals plans for "Eurasian Oscars"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia has revealed plans to launch an annual awards ceremony dubbed the "Eurasian Oscars" saying the award isn’t meant to "fight Hollywood," The Hollywood Reporter said.

"Eurasia is a huge part of the world, which deserves more attention than it attracts today," Nikita Mikhalkov, an Oscar-winning director and head of Russia's filmmakers' union and the Moscow international film festival, was quoted as saying by news agency RIA Novosti. "[But] this is not an attempt to fight Hollywood."

Mikhalkov was speaking in Crimea, a peninsular region annexed by Russia from Ukraine two years ago, during the inaugural edition of the "Eurasian Bridge" film festival, which is expected to become the launchpad for the "Eurasian Oscars."

All major film festivals in Russia are funded by the government, and the new awards are expected to obtain state funding, as well.

According to Mikhalkov, films from such countries as Korea, India and Pakistan will be prominent at the "Eurasian Oscars." "This is true cinema from countries where there are [political and social] problems," he said.

According to Mikhalkov, cinema coming from countries "with problems" is stronger.

Mikhalkov won an Oscar in the best foreign-language film category for Burnt by the Sun in 1995. Recently, he has been complaining about unfair treatment of Russian films at the Oscars.

The statement about "not fighting Hollywood" comes at a time when the idea of introducing a theatrical release quota for homegrown films in a bid to restrict Hollywood films at the box office is still under discussion, and anti-Hollywood rhetoric is omnipresent.

Meanwhile, later this month, Russia is launching what is advertised as the local equivalent of the Golden Globes.