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Russia’s movie industry is so bad that the government is demanding a federal audit

Source: Vedomosti

Culture Minister Vladimir Medinksy has asked the Attorney General’s Office to audit 21 Russian film companies that took state money but didn’t fulfill the terms of their agreements. “There are more than a few crooks on this list,” Medinsky said on Friday.

The production studios on Medinsky’s list either failed to repay government loans or they accepted government grants but never made the movies they said they would. The culture minister singled out the cartoon production companies “Da Studio” and “Contact Media,” as well as “Enjoy Movies,” the studio behind the 2017 superhero flop “Guardians.” In July 2017, the government sued Enjoy Movies for failing to pay back 50.8 million rubles ($812,250) in state funding for “Guardians.”

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Before Friday, Medinsky had already asked the Attorney General’s office to audit another five film studios that took money directly from the Culture Ministry (not Russia’s Cinema Foundation). Medinsky has refused to speculate on potential criminal liability facing the studios’ producers, saying he’s mainly interested in recouping the state’s money.

Russia’s Cinema Foundation regularly sues film companies that fail to repay the government’s investments. These lawsuits usually end in settlements, where the studios gradually pay back their debts.

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