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Filmmakers Under Attack

The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service has criticized a new state system of funding films that was introduced in the spring as unlawful and “biased,” Vedomosti reported Monday.

The selection criteria for the new system, which is to finance only “industry leaders,” are not defined by any law, the anti-monopoly service said in a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov.

Dozens of movie companies were unjustly left out of the competition in 2010, the letter said.

The watchdog demanded that violations be fixed within a month.

The government refused to comment on the issue Monday.

The 2 billion rubles ($65 million) assigned for “industry leaders” this year was divided among eight movie producers, including companies of well-known directors Nikita Mikhalkov, Fyodor Bondarchuk and Timur Bekmambetov.

(MT)


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