Storm Likely At Festival

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31412, 4 July 1967, Page 15

Storm Likely At Festival

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) MOSCOW, July 3. Russia’s answer to the glamour of world film festivals, a spectacle that puts Puritanism, politics and propaganda ahead of pulchritude, playboys and parties, is on this week, the Associated Press reported.

Moscow's fifth International Film Festival from July 5-20 again promises political fireworks. Prize awards in the past have pitted Soviet jurors, seeking to honour Soviet films with top awards, against foreign jurors demanding recognition for artistic achievement from abroad.

In 1963 the in-fighting got so rough that Western jurors threatened to quit. Only a Soviet back-down, reportedly authorised by the then Soviet Prime Minister, Mr Nikita Khrushchev, calmed the storm.

Moves to honour controversial films from the West have confronted deadly serious Soviet officials with key dilemmas. Refusal to honour such films hurts efforts to present a liberal image abroad, and dampens the prestige of the Moscow festival. The Russians also fear that honouring such films adds pressure for relaxation of controls on the arts in Russia, permitting production of critical films. They want the prestige of an international film festival award bestowed on productions of the only Sovietapproved art school, “Socialist Realism.” The American film “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” will be shown outside the competition to an invitationonly audience of Soviet film workers. The Russians always invite scores of the world’s stars to attend but few appear, partly because the scheduled showing of their films is worked out only at the last minute. This time only Leslie Caron and the French actor Robert Hossein, both jury members,

are listed as being certain to attend.

Among the Americans, George Hamilton, Warren Beatty, Shirly Maclaine, Shirley Temple and Jack Palance have agreed tentatively to attend.

The Russian-born composer Dmitri Tiomkin, maker of “High Noon” is on the 15member jury. It has a majority of eight Communist representatives, with a Russian chairman.

Sandy Dennis, star of the American entry in the competition, “Up The Down Staircase,” is due to appear. A former aide to President Johnson, Jack Valenti, now president of the Motion Picture Association of America, will head the American delegation. Two American directors, Fred Zinnemann and Stanley Kramer, are expected to attend.

Both have been involved in previous Moscow festival jury battles. Zinnemann’s film “A Man For All Seasons,” will be shown as the British entry. At the last festival in 1965 Zinnemann led the opposi-

tion to awarding the grand prize to the Soviet film, “War and Peace.”

Officially, opponents said the film did not deserve the prize because only the first two of its four parts were shown. Western and some Soviet critics questioned the quality of the film.

The top prize was split between “War and Peace” and the Hungarian entry, “29 Hours,” which the Russians had called ideologically unsound. Kramer was involved in a bigger outcry in 1963, when most jury members agreed the best film was Federico Fellini’s controversial “Bi.” The Russians backed a lacklustre Soviet film, “Meet Baluyev.” The issue was reportedly referred to Mr Khrushchev, who agreed to let the award go to “81.”

Soviet officials attacked the film, warning artists that the award would not signal a liberalisation of controls in Russia.

A crack-down temporarily halted work on 13 Soviet films until the storm died down.