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Moscow Film Museum Endangered

In February, we had published and supported a Note of Protestation initiated by Erika und Ulrich Gregor ("Freunde der deutschen Kinemathek", Berlin) and Christoph Terhechte (Berlinale — International Forum of New Cinema), stating that the Moscow Film Museum would be seriously endangered and would have to face the possibility to be evicted from its location, the Kino Center building. This text provoked filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov to write a letter to FIPRESCI General Secretary Klaus Eder in which he complained that we would have published an incorrect information, in particular concerning his own role. We publish this letter (together with all documents Nikita Mikhalhov had sent us), and we publish the answers of Erika and Ulrich Gregor and of Klaus Eder. We add some more documents which (especially for our Russian colleagues) may bring some more light into this incident, among them a letter from the Guild of Film Critics and Film Historians in the Filmmakers' Union to President Putin, Prime Minister Fradkov and Mayor Luzhkov.

Note of protestation
Moscow Film Museum Evicted From Kino-Zentr
Note of Protestation, initiated by Ulrich and Erika Gregor ("Freunde der Deutschen Kinemathek", Berlin) and Christoph Terhechte (International Forum of New Cinema of the Berlinale), and supported by FIPRESCI (February 18, 2005).

Letters
Letter from Nikita Mikhalkov to Klaus Eder
In a letter to FIPRESCI General Secretary Klaus Eder, the Russian film director answers the Note of Protestation. (March 15, 2005).
Answer to Nikita Mikhalkov
Klaus Eder / Erika and Ulrich Gregor
Open Letter to President Putin, Prime Minister Fradkov, Mayor Luzhkov
by the Guild of Film Critics and Film Historians within the Filmmakers' Union (April 6, 2005)

Documents
Letter from N. Mikhalkow to President Putin
Answer from the President's Administration
Letter from N. Mikhalkov to the Minister of Culture

More Documents, for download
For our Russian colleagues, we enclose a few other documents (in Russian language), which can be downloaded in pdf format.
Decision of the VI. Congress of the Filmmakers' Union of Russia, to guarantee the continuity of the Film Museum's work until a new location will be found.
Statement of the 'Guilds' within the Filmmakers' Union (among them the Guild of Film Critics, member of FIPRESCI), decisions made at a meeting on March 10, 2005. This document does not concern the Film Museum specifically but the general business politics of the Union's leadership. The Guilds (the representatives of different professions in cinema) protest against this politics of selling the Union's property to investors and do not wish this to happen to Domkino, the Film House (which from long years serves as seat of the Union and place of film culture). The Guilds also state that the principles of democracy in the life of the Union would be broken, and request to respect the role of the Guilds when important decicions are taken. The decisions were adopted with a majority of 48 votes (5 against, 1 abstention). A publication in the Union's newspaper was however not allowed by the management. We publish this document in particular to the knowledge of our Russian colleagues.

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