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The Moscow International Film Festival tops Moscow’s arts calendar this month. In recent years the festival has become more important internationally and an even grander event here in Moscow. This month the festival inspired us to devote an issue of PASSPORT to Russian film - it’s past, present, and future. We look back and offer an admittedly subjective list of the top 10 Russian films of all time. Mickey Berdy, who writes a feature every month about a museum or excursion in town, takes us on a tour of Mosfilm, Russia’s largest film studio. We also offer some practical tips on the best places to buy English-language DVDs in Moscow. Perhaps most interestingly, we look in depth at a few young directors and actors who are forging a new direction in Russian cinema.
But we don’t focus exclusively on film. In our most comprehensive "Beyond the Ring" feature to date, PASSPORT takes you to Armenia, a country in the midst of an exciting period of cultural upheaval and regeneration. We also profile a 27-year-old rabbi from Detroit charged with leading the Jewish community across the former Soviet Union, but who manages to find time for family, charity work, and ministering to the local expatriate community.
We hope you enjoy the issue. Please don’t hesitate to send us an e-mail with your thoughts about this issue or suggestions for future issues. All the best.
J. Quinn Martin Editor |