Cinetrain films spark criticism at world premiere

Prominent documentary maker Alexander Rastorguev has launched a vociferous attack on the filmmakers involved in the Cinetrain film initiative. Cinetrain features eight short films produced by a group of young foreign filmmakers who travelled across Russia by train during January. Rastorguev, the director of I Love You and The Term, criticised the films at the world premiere of the project. He described the works - which were part-funded by the Russian Ministry of Culture - as government propaganda and “cinematographic garbage”.

Responding to the criticism, Guillaume Protsenko, co-founder of Cinetrain, said: ‘We worked so hard over the last six years looking for funding to do this, even thinking of ways to do it with no money. This opportunity of funding came along and we decided to take it. Let’s not dirty each other for it.” He added: “Film does not alway have to be aligned with politics.”

The Cinetrain films will now tour film festivals worldwide over the coming year. The discussion is available to watch in Russian on YouTube