“The Spirit” Won the Berlinale Film Festival Award

The film “Spirit” directed by Joseph Fiennes has received a prestigious award of the Berlin Film Festival. The film was produced by the film company “Russian World Studios”.

“The Spirit” received a special prize at the “Cinema for Peace” category informally called “the intellectual Oscar” at Berlinale. The film’s producers were Andrei Smirnov, Yuri Sapronov and Olga Sinelshchikova (the company “Russian World Studios”). The director of the film, Joseph Fiennes, went up stage to receive an award. The award was presented by an Irish rock musician and a public figure Sir Bob Geldof. RWS was the first that Joseph thanked from the stage.

“We’re happy that our work was noted at a prestigious world festival. We care about the problems of modern society: violence of fratricidal wars and mercilessness of terrorism. We are proud of our input in peace affairs, and we hope that our film will not leave the audience untouched,” said CEO of RWS Andrei Smirnov.
The film “The Spirit” is a director’s debut of the famous English actor Joseph Fiennes, well-known to the audience from the role of young Shakespeare from John Malden’s movie “Shakespeare in Love”. Alexi hides away from the world around him in his old house where happiness used to dwell. Some time ago war came to this place and killed his wife and son. But their “spirit” still dwells in the hut within the woods. And Alexei himself believes that his little son simply ran away and now lives in the forest. His brother Sergey gives him an unexpected visit and tries to talk him into moving to the city. But Alexi refuses to leave his home, saying that his family lives here. And he remains alone in the forest forever. Staring: Adam Tsekhman, Flerov Eduard, Daniil Kalutskih, Lara Chaklin.

“I never directed before, so RWS helped me to reveal my Russian path in directing,” comments Joseph Fiennes his work on the movie.

The world premiere of the film took place at the Moscow International Film Festival in June 2007.

Catherine Deneuve, Christopher Lee, top model of the 90s Nadija Auermann, opera star Anna Netrebko, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tim Robbins, Garry Kasparov, Suzan Sarandon, baron David de Rothschild, and ex-minister if international affairs of Germany Joshka Fischer were special guests at the “Cinema for Peace” ceremony. The early honorary chair of “Cinema for Peace”—the Goodwill Ambassador of the UNIFEM, the women’s agency at the United Nations Nicole Kidman was unable to attend the ceremony as she is preparing to become a mother. Vitaly Klichko was present at the international jury committee according to tradition.