THE RUSSIAN-BRITISH (SOCHI) INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AND AWARDS (SIFFA) ANNOUNCES ITS LAUNCH EVENT IN CHELTENHAM ON 10 SEPTEMBER 2021
SIXTH SIFFA IN SOCHI, RUSSIA
FOURTH SIFFA UK
Today, on 31 August the Russian-British (Sochi) International Film Festival and Awards (SIFFA) confirmed the date and time of its launch event:
Friday 10 September at 2:30 pm BST at Chapel Arts, Knapp Road, Cheltenham, GL50 3QQ.
The launch is a precursor to: the 6th annual film festival in Sochi, Russia, on November 5-10, 2021
AND
the 4th SIFFA UK festival 11-20 February 2022 in London, Cheltenham and other UK cities.
The launch will be a one day in person event in the city of Cheltenham, timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the Chapel Arts Gallery in Cheltenham and the birthday of the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky!
Founder and president of SIFFA Luba Balagova, writer, poet and cinematographer, said:
“We are holding a press conference, film screenings and a concert as our launch event in the Chapel Arts Gallery in Cheltenham, uniting the cities of Sochi, Cheltenham, Moscow and London, as well as other countries and cities joining us online from around the world.
“I am delighted that the city of Cheltenham, so famous for its grand festival achievements, will host two days of our ten day programme in 2022. Cheltenham will figure prominently on our festival map! I am eternally grateful to Cheltenham, its Mayor, the local authority, the twinning association and all those in Cheltenham who have helped us. I am equally grateful to the Russian Embassy in the UK and the Government of Moscow, which made it possible for us to hold SIFFA UK in 2022 and maintain our cultural links between Russia and the UK.
“We will breathe new life into the cultural and creative links between Russia and Great Britain”.
The Mayor of Cheltenham Councillor Steve Harvey said:
“The Cheltenham Twinning Association is honoured and pleased that the Russian-British International Film Festival SIFFA UK will host events in Cheltenham, and as a festival city we want to give them our full support. These events will take place at Chapel Arts which this year celebrates the 200th anniversary of the building it occupies. At the same time, we are also pleased to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Fyodor Dostoevsky with a screening of a film* at the launch event about this great Russian writer. We are pleased to host these events and know that in doing so we will further strengthen links between Cheltenham and Sochi and maintain the cultural bridge between Russia and the UK."
*The well known Russian director Vladimir Khotinenko directed the film. He has received many awards for his work in cinema. He is invited to join us at the launch and will attend SIFFA UK in Cheltenham next year.
SIFFA website www.siffarussuk.com.