Regular Russian cinema art festival starts in Cannes

A regular Russian cinema art festival opens today in the Mediterranean resort city of Cannes, south of France. The festival has been taking place there for the fifth year in a row, being almost the biggest annual event within the framework of the Russo-French cultural cooperation.

For five days the Cannes Festival Palace will see the leading artists of Moscow's Bolshoi Theater ballet troupe, the classical music ensemble conducted by the internationally known viola player Yuri Bashmet, and a chorus of Cossacks from Kuban (Russia's south) performing. The program of the festival includes the Days of the Russian Cinema, an exhibition of drawings by film director Sergei Eisenstein (the author of the well-known film The Potyomkin Ironclad), an exposition of graphic works by Moscow sculptor Zurab Tsereteli, and a show of Russian couturiers' collections.

Russia's Cultural Foundation and Culture Ministry, under the aegis of the Cannes City Hall, are holding the festival.