Pinocchio opens Russian Film Festival in Belarus

On March 18-22, the Republic of Belarus will host the Russian Film Festival, organized by Roskino with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. The film screenings will take place in two cities — Minsk and Brest. This year, the festival is held as part of the Days of Russian Culture in Belarus.

One of the key events of the program and the opening film of the festival will be "Pinocchio" (2025). The film combines elements of a classic plot with the modern visual language of a large family movie. Directed by Igor Voloshin, the main roles were played by Alexander Petrov, Mark Edelstein, Victoria Isakova, Ruzil Minekaev and other Russian stars.

After successful distribution in Russia and active international sales, the film continues its journey. The screening of the Russian Film Festival will become an important part of its festival history and will allow the Belarusian audience to see the film on the big screen as part of a large-scale cultural event.

According to Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, "the good tradition of showing Russian films in Belarus allows us to preserve the memory of the past and inspires new discoveries and creative achievements in cinematography, and the high interest of viewers in our cinema confirms the special place of cinematography in the cultural dialogue between the two countries."

Svetlana Balanova, CEO of the National Media Group: "After successful distribution in Russia and active international sales, the film "Pinocchio" continues its journey around the world. The film will be presented with the support of Roskino at the film festival in the Republic of Belarus. The screening of the film will be another confirmation that our countries are united not only by strategic allied relations, but also by a common cultural space with stories they have loved since childhood."

Anastasia Korchagina, CEO of Art Pictures Distribution: "For us, as experts in the distribution of content on the international market, it is especially important that the film finds its audience in different countries. Pinocchio is certainly just such a project: we have already shown it in the USA, Canada, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Armenia, Thailand, Cyprus, and now it is being rolled out in Israel and Latin America. It is especially valuable that we see viewers of all generations in cinemas: children look with interest at the modern visualization of a classic work, and adults return to warm memories of childhood. We are glad that the Belarusian audience now also has the opportunity to see this film on the big screen."

On the opening day, the film will be presented at the festival by director Igor Voloshin.

Igor Voloshin, director: "As we know, Pinocchio escaped from Papa Carlo and traveled around the world — and now he's here. Pinocchio continues his journey through the cinemas of the world, visiting wonderful countries where he gives his heart to the audience. It gives you joy, love and warmth, because it is the genre of fairy tales that makes everyone happy. We are very pleased that our film is coming to Belarus, and its premiere will take place in Minsk. I am particularly pleased with this, because, among other things, this is the homeland of my ancestors — my mother was born in the city of Pinsk."

Among the film's producers are the Hydrogen Film Company and Art Pictures Studio, the National Media Group, Channel One, Plus Studio, and Art Pictures Distribution with the support of the Cinema Foundation. The film's distributor in Russia is NMG Film Distribution. The overseas distributor is Art Pictures Distribution.

One of the special events of the festival will be the exhibition of the Bakhrushinsky Theater Museum, organized jointly with Roskino as part of the Cinema| Theater project. The exhibition will be dedicated to the tradition of generational succession in Russian culture and will present unique photographic materials from the museum's collection, including those related to the film Pinocchio.

Art Pictures Distribution is a leader in content distribution in the Russian and international markets. Co-investor and co-producer of projects created both in Russia and abroad. The catalog contains more than 30 thousand hours of content, including films, series, television formats ("Red Silk", "Pinocchio", "Ice", "The Word of a kid. Blood on the asphalt", "Fisher", "Daddy's daughters. New" and others).

The company has more than 100 partners, including Hydrogen, Art Pictures Studio, NMG Studio, Wink, BAZELEVS, All Media, Central Partnership, Kinopoisk, Okko, Start, Premier, Ivi, KION, Volga, Arna Media, etc. Art Pictures Distribution is an exclusive distributor of the content of the largest Russian TV channels CTC, REN TV, Channel Five, Domashny, CHE! and Yu.