On Thursday, June 9, the Moscow government announced the introduction of a systematic program to support the film production and distribution industry.

The mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin, explained in his personal blog the need for such measures - according to him, the lack of support will affect not only the film industry, but also other areas of business.

“It means putting thousands of people out of work, and not just in the film industry.

In fact, cinemas are the core of a huge ecosystem of recreation and entertainment that has formed in the shopping and entertainment centers of Moscow.

If there is no cinema, revenues from food courts and children's centers will decrease.

Shops, dry cleaners, beauty salons, pharmacies and many other establishments serving people will suffer.

Which, of course, does not suit us at all, ”the publication says.

In accordance with the new measures, cinema chains from the city budget will be reimbursed for the money spent on acquiring the rights to show domestic films.

The amount of payments will be 100% of the costs incurred from January 1 to May 31, 2022 and 50% of the funds invested from June 1, 2022.

At the same time, each cinema network will receive no more than 50 million rubles.

Also, the owners of the largest metropolitan networks will receive grants for the promotion of Russian cinema.

At the same time, the Moscow government plans to support the production of film projects.

In particular, film companies that organize filming on the streets of Moscow from January 1 to September 30 will be reimbursed up to 25% of the cost of renting vehicles and various city venues.

In total, 300 million rubles were allocated for these purposes.

In addition, grants for filming in the capital and creating the image of Moscow in cinema will be increased.

“From 2020, the Moscow government pays film companies that shoot their films in Moscow.

12 filmmakers received financial support for a total of 57 million rubles.

In 2022, we will significantly increase the size of these grants,” writes Sobyanin.

Payments will also be available to producers of projects for television and online cinemas.

Also, for the first time, filmmakers filming in the pavilions of the Mosfilm film concern, the Gorky Film Studio and in the Yurovo cinema park in New Moscow will be able to count on help.

Serious problems in the Russian cinema business began at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when cinema halls were closed due to the epidemiological situation.

The situation worsened in March 2022, when, against the backdrop of a special operation to protect Donbass, the largest Hollywood studios refused to show their new films in Russia.

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To attract viewers, cinema chains promised not to increase prices for tickets and cinema bar products.

The repertoire of cinemas has undergone significant changes: more old domestic and foreign films, festival films, as well as films of Indian production began to appear in it.

The other day it became known that the series will start showing in cinemas. 

However, representatives of the Association of Cinema Owners noted that these measures would not be able to generate a large income, and turned to the government for help.

Member of the Council of the Association of Cinema Owners Mikhail Malakhov said in an interview with RT that the funds needed to support the business are estimated at more than 6 billion rubles.  

In this situation, the Russian government ordered to allocate 14.5 billion rubles to the film industry.