Most of the talk at this year's Golden Duke film festival was about a film that nobody saw.


"The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin," Czech director Jiri Menzel's adaptation of Vladimir Voinovich's classic comic novel, was among the nearly 50 films scheduled to be screened at the week-long festival, held in Odessa from Oct. 1 to 9. The Western-made film, shot in Russian with a Russian cast, was expected to be one of the highlights of the festival, and Voinovich himself was in the large audience that gathered for the Oct. 4 premiere.


Moments before the film began, however, producer Eric Abraham took the stage of the theater, announcing that "Chonkin" would not be shown. Video equipment had been set up throughout the theater, he said, and he could even see audience members pulling small cameras from their bags -- a blatant violation of the written agreement that had convinced him that his film would be safe from piracy during its Russian premiere.


"We've had many, many offers to show this film at other Russian film festivals," said Abraham from the London office of Portobello Pictures, which produced the $3.2 million film. "The only reason we decided to go with Golden Duke is because we were given a personal written guarantee that there would be no video cameras of any sort in the cinema."


Abraham said he spent over two months negotiating the terms of the agreement with Mark Rudenstein, one of Russia's most influential film promoters and the general manager of Golden Duke. Rudenstein, he said, had been earnest about keeping the screening clear of possible pirates during their earlier discussions, but seemed decidedly hands-off at the actual premiere.


"The situation was clearly out of control," Abraham said. "People could just walk in off the street carrying all sorts of cameras, and no one was doing anything to stop them."


Alfred Erstreim, a spokesman for Kinotavr, Rudenstein's production firm, said that festival organizers offered to empty the theater and readmit audience members after thorough security checks, but that Abraham refused. Erstreim added that video cameras are a traditional feature of such festivals, in order to film opening ceremonies and speeches rather than the films themselves.


"All of the cameras present were those of accredited journalists, who were there to film the opening presentation and Voinovich and Rudenstein," Erstreim said. "This probably isn't pleasant for the producer to hear, but people there were probably more interested in Voinovich himself than in the film."


Abraham maintained that he and Rudenstein had agreed earlier that there would be no opening presentation.


"I think Abraham was a little bit hasty," said Lena Uvarova, an editor of Screen and Stage magazine, who was at the would-be screening. "They would have eventually taken the cameras away. But on the other hand, it was his film and his money. It's his life, when you get right down to it."


Until a piracy-safe venue can be found in Russia, Abraham said, it is unclear whether the film will ever be released here. "Chonkin," which won a gold medal at its world debut at the Venice International Film Festival in September, is being shown in France, Germany and Italy, but was expected to do most of its business in Russia, he added. Pirated copies would virtually eliminate any profit the film could make here.


"Chonkin," a satirical, often hilarious look at bureaucracy in the Soviet Army during the early days of World War II, made Voinovich, 62, one of Russia's most popular writers after the novel was finally published in 1989, nearly 20 years after it was written. Voinovich said although he ultimately supported Abraham's stand, the decision to cancel the screening was a disappointing one.


"It's very upsetting, but I still hope the film will be shown in Russia somehow," the writer said.


"It was important to Eric not to show the film, more than it was to me. He spent a lot of money and I didn't. I just really want Russians to see this film."


Abraham said he expects that cooperation between Western and Russian filmmakers is likely to dwindle if Russia fails to demonstrate a firm commitment to fighting piracy.


"Until such time as there is a credible and serious attempt by the authorities to clamp down on security, it doesn't make any sense for Western filmmakers to deal with the film market in Russia," he said. "Why make it easier for the pirates?"