If you're a filmmaker living in New York, imagine for a moment if the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting was shut down once a new mayor was appointed. Though on a wider reaching country-wide scale, this is essentially the unfortunate situation that Russian filmmakers find themselves in after The Federal Agency for Cinematography and Culture was closed down as part of a government reshuffle.
According to Variety, "[the] decision — which will bring cultural policy and implementation under one structure after several years when the agency alone worked with filmmakers — means producers may not be able to push ahead with public funding bids for months until a new government structure emerges." The decision also effects a long-planned Russian-German Coproduction Treaty that was near completion. It's unclear now how the treaty will be progressed.
Surprisingly, Russian producers questioned about the decision while at Cannes didn't seem too stressed. Raisa Fomina, head of Moscow's Intercinema Agency, commented on Russia's vitality despite so many dramatic changes in the country's history. "'I am sure that there will be no fundamental change really and that the same people will be back and that Russian film production will continue to be supported.'"
