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30 October 2023

Movies Empresses and Peter I. The Last Tsar and the First Emperor were shown in Serbia for the first time

On 28 and 29 October, Russian movies Empresses and Peter I. The Last Tsar and the First Emperor were premiered in Belgrade. The screenings were part of a program of the first Hermitage Days in Serbia, a major international cultural event organized by the State Hermitage, Ministry of Culture of Serbia and Gazprom Neft company.

The movies were premiered in the Ethnographic Museum. Here, Serbian viewers were able to not only see Russian historic feature movies for the first time, but also talk to their director Andrei Kravchuk (Admiral, Viking, Union of Salvation) during a meet-the-artist session.

Peter I. The Last Tsar and the First Emperor is a large-scale historical project created for a family audience. It painstakingly recreates the most momentous events of 17th and 18th century Russia, explaining how Ancient Rus became the empire that would later lay the foundation of the modern Russia. The premiere in Russia was arranged for the 350th anniversary of the first Russian emperor’s birth. It became the top-grossing historical feature movie in history of Russian releases.

In turn, Empresses is dedicated to first female rulers of the Russian empire: Catherine I (Ksenia Utekhina), Anna Ioannovna (Anna Ukolova) and the main character of the film, Elizaveta Petrovna, whose role was played by Yulia Peresild. The production took place in Moscow and St. Petersburg: to capture the essence of that time, many palaces and country estates were used. Moreover, dozens of costumes that resembled empresses’ attires as close as possible were prepared specifically for the movie.

It was very pleasant to see such excitement for our films: long lines were on the streets, and when I talked to viewers after the premiere, it was clear that they accepted our history and our characters warmly and sincerely. They asked to show these films in other cities of Serbia. Of course, this makes me feel great and happy.
Andrey Kravchuk director

Due to increased interest for the movie from the Serbian community, an opportunity to organize additional screenings in Belgrade is being worked upon.

Both large-scale historical feature movies of Gazprom-Media Holding were produced by 1-2-3 Production. The movies were created as part of a cycle of historical Rus projects and supported by PAO Gazprom, NTV TV channel and the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives. Moreover, the Empresses movie was supported by the Cinema Fund. The distributor in Russia and CIS is Central Partnership.

The “Friends of Petersburg” project brought not only movies, but also most active and talented participants of the project to Hermitage Days in Serbia. Young people were able to explore Belgrade, visit Hermitage’s expositions and workshops in the National Museum of Serbia, go to a gala night by Yakobson Ballet in the National Theater and a concert of the People’s Artist of Russia Vasily Gerello, and also discuss protection of cultural legacy of cities and involvement of youth in these activities with students of the University of Belgrade.

NTV, 1-2-3 Production and Central Partnership are part of Gazprom-Media Holding.

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