One of Moscow’s favorite film festivals, the 8th annual Breaking Down Barriers International Film Festival, opens on Friday. This year the organization Perspektiva is hosting it from Fri. Nov. 11 through Mon. Nov. 14. The festival of films about — and sometimes by — people with disabilities has long become a must-see event for film lovers, with a program of films that are uplifting, fascinating, touching, funny and challenging. This year 72 documentary, feature, animated and short films from 20 countries will be shown at four venues around the city. There will be a special children’s program, lots of extra events, and some blockbuster star power, like RJ Mitte from “Breaking Bad” and Terry McMahon from “Batman Begins.” Admission is free, and all the films will be shown in their original language with Russian subtitles.
Among our favorites are “Becoming Bulletproof,” a film within a film about a group of disabled performers staring in a Western, and “My Feral Heart,” a film from the U.K. about a fiercely independent young man with Down’s syndrome dealing with loss and getting support his feisty, streetwise carer and a local heir dealing with his own demons.
Check out the site kinofest.org for information about the films and program in English and Russian.
