Directors approved the launch of a database with information on state support of the film industry

Russian directors approved the launch of an open database with information on state support of film projects, which began its work on the basis of the Unified Federal Automated System of Information on Screenings of Films in Cinemas (UASI).

Earlier on Monday, the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky presented two new services – “State Support” and “Cinema Audience”. The first contains information on the amounts of state support distributed through the Ministry of Culture and the Cinema Fund since 2015, as well as on debtors who received state funds for making films, but did not return the payback share, or failed to launch production of films. The second service will show the ratings of films, prognosis, and the expected audience on weekends.

Alexey Uchitel, Director, Member of the Council of the Russian Union of Rightholders, said that the creation of a publicly available database is very important. “Firstly, this makes it possible to see what is going on in reality in Russian cinematographic industry. Secondly, for me personally this is important because it is a great opportunity to think about cooperation. There is a state support, there are some companies, that mean we can cooperate, and I will be able to get all information about the company and its financial and economic performance. I believe it’s important. It’s not about gossips, you see, when all information is available and you can use it to understand the situation, it seems to me that this is the only right way to do business,” said Alexey Uchitel.

According to Uchitel, the most popular application among filmmakers is the UASI (Unified Automated System of Information) at present. “When films come out, we click and check like crazy every second, because you can see the results online, how many tickets are sold and what is the outcome. Here is the same thing,” he said.

Another member of the Council of the Russian Union of Rightholders, Director Vladimir Khotinenko, also praised the newly created database. “This is a very clear, concise program for the analysis of cinema. I think it will be useful to all filmmakers and even people who are just interested in cinema. The “success ratings” is a very good, flexible, convenient system,” Khotinenko told reporters, noting that the system is not yet fully developed.

The project called “State Support” contains information on the volumes and forms of state support for film production, distributed by the Ministry of Culture and the Cinema Fund since 2015, as well as on the volumes and forms of state support of films released in wide distribution in the same time period.