International
‘The Artist’, ‘Hugo’ win five Oscars each
MUMBAI: Silent black and white film ‘The Artist‘ and Martin Scorcese‘s 3D children‘s film ‘Hugo‘ bagged five Oscar Awards each this morning. The 84th edition of the show aired live on Star Movies.
While ‘Hugo‘ dominated the technical categories winning in areas like sound, the Artist took home the big awards for picture, director and actor. It also won a couple of technical awards in score and costume design.
The biggest applause, though, was reserved for Meryl Streep who won an Oscar after 29 years playing Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady‘. She said, “When they called my name, I had this feeling I could hear half of America go, ‘Oh, no, why her again?‘ But whatever.
“I really understand I‘ll never be up here again. I really want to think all my colleagues, my friends. I look out here and I see my life before my eyes, my old friends, my new friends.
Really, this is such a great honour but the think that counts the most with me is the friendship and the love and the sheer job we‘ve shared making moves together”.
After ‘The Artist‘ won, the director Michel Hazanavicius thanked Hollywood great Billy Wilder thrice showing the influence that old Hollywood had on the film.
Streep received a standing ovation as did a tearful Octavia Spencer who won for ‘The Help‘ and Christopher Plummer who won for ‘Beginners‘. Plummer and Streep‘s awards could be seen as a reward for a lifetime of excellent work.
It was a triumphant night for Harvey Weinstein who is back in the Oscar race with a big bang. Last year ‘The Kings Speech‘ which he championed took home best picture. This time he bought the rights to distribute the Artist. The Weinstein Company had also gone into overdrive pushing Streep for a long awaited win. Its documentary film ‘Undefeated‘ also won for best documentary.
In the foreign language category, Iran‘s ‘A Separation‘ won. Woody Allen was a no show, although he won for Best Original Screenplay for Midnight In Paris. The George Clooney starrer, ‘The Descendants‘, was rewarded with Best Adapted Screenplay.
Meanwhile ‘War Horse‘, the Steven Spielberg and Anil Ambani co-production, went home empty handed as did ‘The Tree Of Life‘ and ‘Moneyball‘. One of the highlights was a performance by Cirque Du Soleil. The show‘s host Billy crystal did a crisp job and the show finished in just over three hours. It was shorter in duration than most of the previous editions of the Oscar Awards ceremony Awards.
International
Moskino and Bollywood: Moscow Film Cluster and Film City Mumbai signed a cooperation agreement
Moscow Film Cluster has signed a cooperation agreement with Film City Mumbai. The parties agreed to cooperate in developing the film industry, promoting shooting locations and supporting filmmakers.
The memorandum was signed on the sidelines of the India International Film Tourism (IIFTC) Conclave in Mumbai. At this forum, the Moscow Film Cluster presented Moscow’s opportunities for film shooting, including infrastructure projects such as Film City Moskino and Film Factory. Special attention was paid to the Moscow rebate system – up to 45% – and the co-production development.
Memorandum of Understanding between the Film City and Moscow Film Cluster provides for the establishment and development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the film industry development, including joint promotion of shooting locations, support for filmmakers, implementation of marketing and industry events, development of incentive support measures and strengthening of economic and cultural interaction between India and Moscow.
The parties also intend to promote the development of the audiovisual sector through the exchange of experience, joint initiatives and the search for opportunities to create new industry partnerships and clusters.
Moscow Film Cluster is a major city initiative led by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to develop the capital into a global cinema hub. It brings together key production infrastructure – such as the Moskino Film Сity, Film Factory and Gorky Film Studio – along with the Film Commission, digital platform and cinema chain to streamline shooting, support productions and attract international filmmaking to Moscow.
Also, Moscow offers a rebate of up to 45%: 30% as direct production cost compensation, up to 15% for visa and accommodation support. The Moscow Image Grant provides up to $255,000 for films showcasing iconic city views.
The Moscow Film Cluster booth attracted considerable attention from Indian producers and studios. Over 80 business meetings were held, including those with major Indian companies.
One of the booth guests was the famous Indian actress Khushboo Sundar, known to Soviet and Russian audiences for her role in My Soul and considered the leading star of Tamil cinema, in whose honor one of the local temples was even built. Prithul Kumar, representative of the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of the officials responsible for regulating the film industry in the country, also expressed interest in the development of the Moscow Film Cluster.
One of the highlights of the India International Film Tourism Conclave was the awarding of The Greatest of All Time in the For Cinematic Excellence category. The movie was shot in Moscow. The jury members noted the project’s contribution to the development of tourism.
The shooting of The Greatest of All Time AGS by Entertainment was organized with the assistance of the Moscow Film Cluster and the Moscow Film Commission and took place in April 2024 on the streets of Moscow. The scenes were shot in such famous locations as Patriarch Bridge, Teatralnaya Square, Manezhnaya Square, Kazarmenny Lane, Podsosensky Lane, Nikolskaya Street and one of the festival venues of Moscow Seasons.
The Greatest of All Time became a landmark event in Indian box office history. It ranked fourth in box office earnings among all movies released in India in 2024 and is one of the most successful Tamil-language movies in history.
At the same time, the shooting of another joint Russian-Indian movie started at the Moskino Film City in Moscow. A film project dedicated to badminton became one of the first participants in the Moscow rebate program.
A project by Smena & WISH Media (Russia) and Kartina Entertainment And Sports Private Limited (India) will tell the story of a badminton player who travels to India with the Russian national team to compete in a tournament. Russian viewers will see for the first time the scale of sporting competitions in Asia, where badminton is a cult sport and draws packed stands of fans.
The agreement on the joint production of the Smash movie was signed st the Moscow International Film Week in August 2025. And as Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, a rebate application was also submitted at that time to reimburse part of the costs incurred during the shooting process in the Russian capital.
