10:45 AM - Noon
Session B:
Russia & Eastern Europe - Building Entertainment and Technological Partnerships
In this session we will explore the opportunities for investment and development, co-production as well as the state of the current media and entertainment markets in Russia and other countries in Eastern Europe. Each year, from music and television to film production, the entertainment and technology markets of Eastern Europe have grown at a tremendous rate of acceleration. While each of the countries in the region take on their own special characteristics, in this session we take a look at the state of co-production in film and TV, government support and regulation in ownership of media and the role of investment capital in the development of the entertainment and technology industries.
Andrei Nekrasov, Film Director
Rodion Nahapetov, Director, Actor and Writer
Mr. Oganes Sobolev, Vice President, Video International ADvertsing Agency, Moscow and Kiev (Advertising Agency in Russia)
Mr. Alexander Akopov, President, RTR (Russian TV station)
Mr. Severyn Ashkenazy, Chairman, Creative Management Concepts (Polish Talent Agency)
Mr. Vladimir Kiselev, President, State Enterprise "Kremlin"
Ukrainian TV, speaker to be announced
Nataly Scherbakova, Chief Financial Officer, Comspan Russia, Moderator
Andrei Nekrasov, Film Director: A native of St. Petersburg, Russia, Andrei Nekrasov studied literature and philosophy in Paris and film in Bristol, U.K. He assisted Andrei Tarkovsky in Sweden on the great Russian director's last picture" Sacrifice". After making documentaries for B.B.C. and Channel 4 and winning a prize in Cannes for his short, Nekrasov went back to Russia to make his first feature (Love is as strong as Death, FIPRESCI Prize, 1997). Lubov and other Nightmares , his second, is a highly personal, hypnotic piece shot on location in St. Petersburg and feted at this year's Rotterdam and Berlin Film Festivals.
Rodion Nahapetov, Director, Actor and Writer: Rodion Nahapetov - an award-winning Director, Actor and Writer - has earned a reputation as one of the leading international filmmakers. He is acknowledged as playing "the most significant role in Russian cinema and definitely the most recognized and respected celebrity of contemporary Russia." - Cinema Art Journal. Rodion is the recipient of the "Gold Medal Award," which is the highest national honor bestowed upon an individual for artistic achievement (equivalent to an Academy Award). He has won many international awards both as a director and actor and starred in over 30 theatrical motion pictures. Rodion's film "At the Close of Night," was the first Russian film ever to be purchased by a major American studio (Twentieth-Century Fox) for worldwide distribution. The film was shown in 94 countries and achieved considerable acclaim. "Umbrella for Newlyweds," another of his popular films is now being adapted for an American remake by Twentieth-Century Fox, starring Jessica Lange. "STIR," a recently filmed motion picture directed and produced by Rodion, is currently in post-production. Rodion is residing in the United States.