76-year-old storyteller Lunghin criticized Russian cinema 0 5

Russian cinema lacks films that raise relevant issues; instead, movies today only entertain the audience. This opinion was shared with the media by People's Artist of Russia, film director Pavel Lunghin (76).

"It seems to me that we have a huge shortage of films about modern life. We do not reflect on modern life. You know, the function of cinema is to experience this life; it does not only entertain. Entertainment has been extracted from cinema, like raisins being picked out of a bun, and now we are being served a heap of raisins, but one cannot live on raisins alone without bread. And unfortunately, we have a certain fascination with success," said the agency's interlocutor.

Speaking about trends in the global film industry, Lunghin noted that love for cinema has been replaced by PR, advertising, and political trends.

"Now everything is turning into events for TikTok, for the internet," concluded the director.

In March 2014, Lunghin supported the annexation of Crimea, signing a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin in support of the annexation.

In March 2016, Lunghin became a member of the supporters' club of the "Growth Party," which was created for ideologically aligned public figures who did not wish to obtain a party membership card. Later, he joined the party's general council.

In 2018, he signed an appeal asking for the pardon of Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov. He also spoke in defense of Kirill Serebrennikov in the case of embezzlement at the "Seventh Studio."

In March 2019, Pavel Lunghin stated that at the preview screening of the film "Brotherhood," where senator Igor Morozov, who called for the film to be banned, was present, he felt like a "punching bag." "The only thing that seems like obscurantism to me is the desire to ban something immediately, to tear it apart, to ensure that no one sees it. This is the behavior of obscurantists and people who fear the truth, fear other opinions, fear objectivity. I believe that we do not have censorship and that our art will not determine its fate based on the opinion of some group," Pavel Lunghin said in an interview with the publication "Govorít Moskva."

When asked, "Is there any reason to be grateful to Stalin?" Pavel Lunghin replied: "Of course not."

In September 2020, he signed a letter in support of protest actions in Belarus.

In February 2022, along with thirty figures from the film industry, Lunghin criticized the President's decree on "preserving and strengthening traditional Russian spiritual and moral values," after the Ministry of Culture announced the need to seek new approaches to developing the foundations of state policy. Additional control, in their opinion, would lead Russian cinema and series to maximum simplification.

Lunghin's latest film, "Vasilisa and the Keepers of Time," is a fairy tale film. The premiere took place in October 2024.