Moscow, 23.09.2016

The charity “Perspektiva” has been involved in the “Cinema without barriers” festival since 2002. The festival which highlights the problems faced by the disabled, as well as real stories of how such barriers have been broken down, will take place in Moscow from 11-14 November this year.

More than 166 films from 40 countries have been submitted for this year’s festival. The programme will include films that have been critically acclaimed at famous international cinema festivals such as “Sundance”, “HotDocs”, IDFA and others. The films “The Shoulder of Lion”, “Little People”, “Big Dreams”, “Life Animated”, “Blind Gulliver”, “How we are now”, “Man Falling”, “Sense the Wind”, “Faces”, “I Dance with a God” and “Awake: Step on One Hand” will be shown in Russia for the first time.

The event’s organisers have said that the films will show how important it is to see a person first and foremost as a human being and not someone with a particular characteristic such as disability. “The aim of cinema is to challenge people’s perceptions”, says Denise Roza, Perspektiva’s Director. “I’d like our films to touch a nerve among the audience and change people’s attitudes by shattering their stereotypical image of disabled people. I think this process is already underway. The people who attended the first few festivals were mainly those for whom the subject of disability was a private matter — today’s audience is quite different”, she added.

Apart from the film screenings, the audience will have a chance to see workshops led by well-known directors. A programme will also be organised during the festival in which young people can learn how to make films. They will be assisted by actors Darya Melnikova, Artur Smolyaninov and Ivan Gromov; the singer Gliukoza and principal guest Chris Shup from UNICEF. Professional writers, directors and producers, Vadim Abdrashitov, Aleksey Agranovich, Vladislav Romanov, Marina Razbezhkina, Irina Petrovskaya and Anna Melikyan, will sit on the film festival panel.

“Art in general and film in particular should never accept any kind of barriers. Films without frontiers are real and uninhibited. There’s nothing quite like films made by or about disabled people to help break down our own imaginary barriers, as well as highlighting the huge talents and abilities of each and every person”, says Vyacheslav Zlatopolsky, a member of the 2014 “Cinema without barriers” panel.

More than 20,000 people have seen 700 films from 55 countries since the festival’s inception in 2002. Vladimir Menshov, Andrey Eshpay, Alexander Mitta, Algis Arlauskas, Tatyana Arno, Elena Pogrebizhskaya, Irina Latchina, Vakhtang, Andrey Raykin, Vladimir Gerchikov and others have all supported this festival over the years.

Author: Irina Laktyushina

http://www.asi.org.ru/news/kino-bez-barerov/