This year the Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) is running early, from April 19 through 26, to avoid hotel, transportation, and event conflicts with the summer World Cup festivities.
The MIFF program is packed, with 16 films in the feature competition, 12 in the competition of short films, and seven in the documentary category. In addition to the competitions there are a number of non-competitive programs, from films by and about women, to films with a Russian connection and films from Sri Lanka. You can find the full program and schedule here on the MIFF site.
One of the most interesting special programs is an Ingmar Bergman Festival called “Bergman: The Celebrated and the Obscure.” This festival-within-a-festival will show 21 films by the Swedish director — some old favorites like “Fanny and Alexander” and “Scenes From a Marriage,” and less well-known films such as “Prison,” the first film Bergman shot from his own screenplay, and “Port of Call,” a 1948 film about the relationship between a young woman and a sailor who wants to stay on land.
They will be shown at two venues: the Tretyakov Gallery and the Oktyabr Theater. You can order tickets ahead of time at the Tretyakov Gallery. If you have any questions, call one of the museum numbers and follow instructions to contact an English-speaking member of the staff: +7 495 951 1362, +7 499 230 7788, or +7 499 238 1378.
At the Oktyabr Theater, ticket sales open 24 hours before the screening. You can check the schedule here or below.
The organizers of the festival are keen to make sure all the viewers understand and enjoy the screenings, so they are organizing both Russian and English translation and subtitles. If you want to see the film with English translation or subtitles, 24 hours before the screening send a note to info@moscowfilmfestival.ru or ask someone at the MIFF information booths at the Oktyabr Theater.
The Bergman festival opens with "Fanny and Alexander" at 6 p.m. on Friday (April 20) at the Oktyabr Theater. This film will be shown in Swedish with English subtitles and Russian translation through earphones.
Karo Oktyabr Theater. 24 Novy Arbat. Metro Arbatskaya. +7 903 208 8459. karofilm.ru/art
Tretyakov Gallery. 12 Lavrushinsky Pereulok. Metro Novokuznetskaya, Tretyakovskaya. +7 499 238 1378. www.tretyakovgallery.ru
