The Russian film The Last Bogatyr: Kolobok has been removed from the Cineplex cinema chain’s lineup in Moldova, Point.md reports.
The screening was announced on the Cineplex website several weeks before its scheduled premiere on 13 August. The promotional material was also translated into Romanian.
The information about the film later disappeared from the website. Cineplex subsequently confirmed that it would not be screened.
“A distributor from Kazakhstan approached us with an offer to screen the film, but ultimately we decided against it. It will not be shown,” Cineplex management said.
Earlier, Maria Madan, media communications manager at the anti-disinformation organisation WatchDog, called the film part of the cultural industry of the aggressor state and urged that its screening be prevented.
Madan also highlighted the involvement in the film’s production of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, which owns the Rossiya-1 television channel, as well as Russian actor Gosha Kutsenko, who has supported the annexation of Crimea.
About the Russian film The Last Bogatyr: Kolobok:
- It was directed by Russian filmmaker Anton Maslov and produced by Russian film studio Yellow, Black and White.
- The film had a budget of RUB 1 billion.
- To avoid competition between Kolobok and Spider-Man: Brand New Day in Russia, the release of the American film was postponed. This sparked a wave of outrage. Even before its release, Kolobok’s rating began to fall: on the day of its premiere, it stood at 1.1, with more than 90% of ratings being negative.