Russian film director Mikhalkov vows to visit European Games in Baku

Nikita Mikhalkov, a notable Russian filmmaker and chairman of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation, said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza that he has received an invitation to the First European Games in Baku from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Mikhalkov admitted that he had filmed the train robbery scenes of At Home Among Strangers in Azerbaijan. Moreover, the film director reminded that his movie 12 was about a jury who were passing verdict on a Chechen teenager accused of murdering his foster father.

Mikhalkov noted that the Russian emperor's convoy included Circassians. The Caucasus, in his words, was the pearl in the crown of the Russian Empire and modern Russia.

According to the director, an Academy of Cinematographic and Theater Art will open at the Cinema Actor Theater on September 15. The idea was inspired by Drevnegrad in Serbia, where Emir Kusturica would regularly gather his colleagues and hold cinema festivals. The idea for a full-fledged annual academy was developed at the Summer Cinema Academy of Mikhalkov, which has already been running for three years. The new academy will use the standards set by such legends as Stanislavski, Vakhtangov and Mikhail Chekhov, Mikhalkov explained.

The film director concluded that he has taught students from countries of the South Caucasus.