21 - 29 January
The Moscow-based Sovremennik Theatre is bringing three of their acclaimed productions to London for the first time. Into the Whirlwind, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard, directed by Galina Volchek, will be performed in Russian with English surtitles.

28 November, 4pm
Another chance to catch Pavel Bardin's 'mockumentary', documenting the rise of xenophobia and nationalism in Russia. Followed by a Q&A with the director.

Yume Pictures and Academia Rossica are delighted to invite you to a special screening of the film 'A Room and a Half' at 8pm on 10 May at Cine Lumière, South Kensington, London, SW7 2DT, followed by Q&A with director Andrey Khrzhanovsky and actress Alisa Freyndlikh. It is a beautifully mesmerising film based on the life of the Russian poet Joseph Brodsky.

Boris Ryzhy Director Aliona van der Horst NETHERLANDS/2008/BETACAM/COLOUR/59 MIN/RUSSIAN ENGLISH SUBTITLES Prize-winning documentary film by Aliona van der Horst about Russian poet Boris Ryzhy "All of my poems speak only of love and death," wrote Russian poet Boris Ryzhy (1974-2001) in 2000. "But all the same, I'm happy with my wife and son." One year later, the charming young tough, who had already achieved considerable literary renown, hanged himself-in so doing following in the footsteps of many Russian artists before him. The author of a thousand poems and recipient of Russia's most prestigious literary prize, he was only 26 years old. Trying to understand what drove him to suicide, van der Horst uncovers the hidden drama of the entire perestroika generation, for which Boris Ryzhy was the standard bearer. "We were deprived of communism without being given access to capitalism," explains his widow. The perestroika years of the Yeltsin era, a time that we in the West associate with democracy and freedom, have an entirely different meaning in the anarchic streets of Yekaterinenburg, the industrial city where Ryzhy grew up and which so marked his life and work. However, despite this dark reality, Ryzhy's love of life is what comes to the fore in van der Horst's poetic film: through his work, pain is transformed into grace.

When Academia Rossica approached me to serve on the jury for their translation prize, I was excited and intrigued. What would the field be like, how many entries would there be, were there still publishers around in the West willing to produce translations of serious Russian works? The classics apart, was there more to Russian literature for English-speaking people than penguins and historical detectives? My caricature of the average Western reader's view of Russian literature today can perhaps be excused in part by my own education.

Второй ежегодный фестиваль российского кино стартовал в Лондоне премьерой фильма «Живи и помни». В этом году было решено расширить программу фестиваля и уделить показам больше дней: с 18 по 29 сентября. Как и раньше, фестиваль проходит в престижном кинотеатре Apollo West End в самом центре Лондона.

Leicester Square Theatre
9 & 16 March
£12/£10
‘A Sense of Delicacy’, one of Chekhov’s best comic stories, comes to the London stage, performed by the Romanian actor Mihai Arsene. Actor Mihai Arsene was born in Pitesti, Romania. He studied Performing Arts at the University of Craiova, where he graduated in 2001. Just before graduation, he was awarded The Best Actor Award for the role Mr. Bogoiu in "The Holiday Game" by Mihail Sebastian, which was part of the Student Actor Festival in Iasi, Romania.

by Mikhail Bulgakov
Translated by Andrew Bromfield
Penguin, 2007, pp.113
Dystopian novelette by Mikhail Bulgakov, written in Russian in 1925 as Sobachye serdtse. It was published posthumously in the West in 1968, both in Russian and in translation, and in the Soviet Union in 1987. The book is a satirical examination of one of the goals of the October Revolution of 1917: to create a new breed of man, uncorrupted by the past and above petit bourgeois concerns.

by Maria Galina
Translated by Amanda Love Darragh
Glas; 2008; pp. 368
The central theme of "Iramifications" is the eternal misunderstanding between East and West. Misconceptions and the notion of identity are explored on a journey from Odessa to the symbolic Oriental city of Iram, via the complexity of friendship and the blurring of borders between fantasy and reality. Tales are woven, deserts are crossed, and battles are fought. East and West are worlds apart...or are they?

Martin Dewhirst has lectured on Russian language and literature at the University of Glasgow since 1964. He is particularly interested in twentieth century Russian literature and has compiled many bibliographies on the subject for The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies. He has worked periodically on the Samizdat staff of Radio Liberty in Munich and is also a specialist on Soviet censorship and archives.

Второй ежегодный фестиваль российского кино стартовал в Лондоне премьерой фильма «Живи и помни». В этом году было решено расширить программу фестиваля и уделить показам больше дней: с 18 по 29 сентября. Как и раньше, фестиваль проходит в престижном кинотеатре Apollo West End в самом центре Лондона.

Apollo West End
The legendary Moscow film club, founded by the brothers Igor and Gleb Aleynikov, present their special collection of short films – a collage of soviet news chronicles, conventional sketches and animations on the subject of constant revolution.

Второй ежегодный фестиваль российского кино стартовал в Лондоне премьерой фильма «Живи и помни». В этом году было решено расширить программу фестиваля и уделить показам больше дней: с 18 по 29 сентября. Как и раньше, фестиваль проходит в престижном кинотеатре Apollo West End в самом центре Лондона.

25 сентября. 16.00
кинотеатр Apollo West End
Куглый стол, посвященный обсуждению прошлого, настоящего и будущего документального кино. Ведущие российские и британские режиссёры обсудят смещение границ между документальным и художественным кино. По завершению обсуждения будет показан новый фильм Виталия Манского "Девственность" (Сценарий Дмитрия Быкова).

кинотеатр Apollo West End
'Flash Smash: российская компьютерная анимация' — показ анимационных фильмов, снятых независимыми аниматорами, создающих в своих работах мрачную гнетущую атмосферу. В своих работах они показывают захватывающие миры, населённые эфемерными существами и фантастическими видениями. Это своеобразный ответ современному обществу и в то же время новое искусство.

кинотеатр Apollo West End
"Синие носы" — российская арт-группа, создающая свои произведения в жанрах видеоарта, перформанса, коллажа и др. Образована в 1999 году. В состав группы входят Вячеслав Мизин и Александр Шабуров. Представляет арт-группу на фестивале Александр Шабуров.

кинотеатр Apollo West End
Легендарный московский киноклуб, основанный братьями Игорем и Глебом Алейниковыми, представит на фестивале целую коллекцию короткометражных фильмов: коллаж из советских выпусков новостей, необычных этюдов и анимаций на тему непрестанной революции.

27 и 28 сентября
кинотеатр Apollo West End
В этом году фестиваль российского кино сотрудничает с уникальным лондонским проектом Open Rehearsal. Вместе мы постараемся показать британским зрителям российское кино изнутри. 27 и 28 сентября известные российские режиссёры и кинокритики расскажут британской публике о российском кинематографе.

Apollo West End
ArtKino is a Moscow film club whose aim is to revive the tradition of auteur cinema in Russia. It also organises a festival of short and documentary films.

Apollo West End
A show of animation produced by independent animators who create macabre atmosphere throughout their work. With full aesthetic confidence they present gripping narratives of imaginary worlds populated with elusive creatures and filled with fantastic visions.

Apollo West End
The Blue Noses, aka artists Aexander Shaburov and Vyacheslav Mizin, are one of the most internationally famous Russian art-groups. Taking part in all major contemporary art biennales and media-forums, the The Blue Noses work consists of video-art, performance and collage.

Apollo West End
The legendary Moscow film club, founded by the brothers Igor and Gleb Aleynikov, present their special collection of short films – a collage of soviet news chronicles, conventional sketches and animations on the subject of constant revolution.

25/09 at 4.00pm
Apollo West End
A roundtable discussion on the past, present and future of documentary filmmaking. Top Russian and British filmmakers and critics will discuss the changing boundaries between documentary and fiction in contemporary film. The discussion will be followed by a screening of a new film by Vitaly Mansky ‘Virginity’ (text by Dmitry Bykov).

27&28 September
Apollo West End
This year, the Russian Film Festival is collaborating with London’s unique venture, Open Rehearsal, to take the British public behind the scenes of contemporary Russian filmmaking. The weekend will see highly-renowned Russian filmmakers and film critics take to the stage to give UK audiences a unique insight into Russian cinema.

Novelist and broadcaster. He was born in Moscow in 1945. He studied art and later geometrical topology at Moscow University. He emigrated in 1975 and worked as a theatre director for a student theatre group in Jerusalem. Since 1976 he has lived and worked in London. He regularly contributes to BBC Radio, the Times Literary Supplement and to other periodicals. He is editor and presenter of West End, a weekly radio show for the BBC Russian Service. Zinovy's seven novels have been translated into a number of European languages. His novel The Mushroom Picker was made into a film for BBC Television in 1994. His novel Russian Service, as well as a number of his short stories, were adapted for BBC Radio 3 and for Radio France. During the 1990s three of his novels in Russian were nominated for the Russian Booker in Moscow. Zinik's dramatic farce Here Comes the Tiger, set to music by Gerard McBurney, was first performed by The Gogmagogs at the London City Festival in 1999. His radio documentary on Berlin, After the Wall, (with Claudia Sinnig) was awarded the Bronze Medal at the New York International Radio Festival in 2001. His documentary radio drama My Father's Leg was broadcast by BBC Radio 3 in 2003. Zinik's recent collection of short stories Mind the Doors was published in 2002 by Context Books, New York. Zinovy is a member of The Colony Room Club in Soho.

Zinovy Zinik is a Moscow-born novelist and broadcaster. He studied art and later geometrical topology at Moscow University. He emigrated in 1975 and worked as a theatre director for a student theatre group in Jerusalem. Since 1976 he has lived and worked in London. He regularly contributes to BBC Radio, the Times Literary Supplement and other periodicals. He is the editor and presenter of West End, a weekly radio show for the BBC Russian Service. Zinovy's nine books of fiction have been translated into a number of European languages. Of his recent books, Zinik's collection of short stories in English Mind the Doors was published in 2002 by Context Books, New York.

19-20 April
Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly
Screenings of films based on Russian literature
With English subtitles