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Closeness by Balagov receives Grand Prix at the International Film Festival The Mirror

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Closeness by Balagov receives Grand Prix at the International Film Festival The Mirror


19.06.2017

FacebookDebut long-length feature Closeness by Kantemir Balagov has received Grand Prix at the 11th Andrey Tarkovsky The Mirror International Film Festival, TASS reports.

Festival devoted to 85th anniversary of Tarkovsky has concluded in Ivanovo city. At the beginning of the gala evening one minute of silence was observed in memory of USSR People's artist Aleksey Batalov who recently passed away.

Main prize of the festival was also given to Chinese director Feng Xiaogang's movie I Am Not Madame Bovary. A Brief Excursion by Igor Bezinovich form Croatia was recognized as the Best Director's work.

Closeness has received not only Gran Prix but also the Audience Choice Award. Low budget feature tells the story of the kidnapping of a young couple in a close-knit Jewish community. Balagov has involved non-professional actors from neighborhood to participate in the film.

It's worth mentioning that Kantemir Balagov has been a student on Aleksandr Sokurov's workshop at the Kabardino-Balkarian State University in the city of Nalchik, in the North Caucasus.

As we reported earlier, Closeness has also earned the Award of International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI at the Cannes Film Festival.

The festival president Pavel Lungin has proudly noted that the competition program was strong this year, and it was not easy for the jury to make a choice. "Our festival is the main non-mainstream festival in Russia," concluded Lungin.

Russkiy Mir

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