Russia & CIS luring foreign projects

Michael Dounaev, CEO of Sistema Mass-Media, the parent company of Thema Prods., which plans to open its own roughly 130,000-square-foot studio in St. Petersburg this summer, believes it's time for Russia's film industry to have a stronger producer system. Thema, originally founded in Luxembourg, has mostly invested in international co-productions ("Match Point") to date. For now, it's the ex-Soviet satellites, where local production remains in the doldrums, that are luring foreign projects. The privatized and expanded Lithuania Film Studio outside Vilnius is currently housing a four-part "War and Peace" adaptation for director Robert Dornhelm and Italy's Lux Vide. And a 12-stage studio is being developed near Ukrainian capital Kiev in collaboration with Hollywood's Culver Studios. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=features2006&content=jump& jump=story&dept=afm2006&nav=SGafm&articleid=VR1117952858&query=lithuania http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/international/ features/e3i56be83607abfbbd039961cdb80d0ca2b
2007-07-06 17:21:48