President Vladimir Putin played host to U.S. action star Steven Seagal and two other international movie stars, in town for the 25th Moscow International Film Festival, at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence on Sunday.
Local television showed Putin chatting with Seagal, Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida and Fanny Ardant of France. Oscar-winning director Nikita Mikhalkov, the film festival's president, was present as well.
Putin said the attendance of the three movie stars at the weeklong film festival, which ended Sunday, has sealed its status as an international event. He also said he hoped they would return despite this year's cold and wet summer.
Ardant said after the meeting that she was impressed with Putin.
"All political men are actors, but I liked his reserve, his simplicity, and I saw that he has an air of intelligence," Ardant was quoted by Agence France Presse as saying.
Seagal, the star of action movies such as "Under Siege" and "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory," has told the local press that he is a big admirer of Putin.
He also said his father was Russian and that he knew Russian well as a child. He conceded, however, that he now only remembers the swear words.
Meanwhile, the film festival drew to a close under a rainy sky at the Pushkinsky theater Sunday night. Seagal presented the prize for best film to Spanish director Miguel Hermoso for his "La Luz Prodigiosa," or "The End of a Mystery," a drama set during the Spanish civil war.
Local television showed Putin chatting with Seagal, Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida and Fanny Ardant of France. Oscar-winning director Nikita Mikhalkov, the film festival's president, was present as well.
Putin said the attendance of the three movie stars at the weeklong film festival, which ended Sunday, has sealed its status as an international event. He also said he hoped they would return despite this year's cold and wet summer.
Ardant said after the meeting that she was impressed with Putin.
"All political men are actors, but I liked his reserve, his simplicity, and I saw that he has an air of intelligence," Ardant was quoted by Agence France Presse as saying.
Seagal, the star of action movies such as "Under Siege" and "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory," has told the local press that he is a big admirer of Putin.
He also said his father was Russian and that he knew Russian well as a child. He conceded, however, that he now only remembers the swear words.
Meanwhile, the film festival drew to a close under a rainy sky at the Pushkinsky theater Sunday night. Seagal presented the prize for best film to Spanish director Miguel Hermoso for his "La Luz Prodigiosa," or "The End of a Mystery," a drama set during the Spanish civil war.