Director Sarik Andreasyan told socialbites.ca that the use of pirated Western content in Russia will end the domestic film industry, which is “already not at its best”. This is how he reacted to the words of Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, supporting digital piracy. According to Andreasyan, it will be much more profitable for cinemas to show pirated Western content and get all the revenue from ticket sales, rather than distribute Russian films and share them with copyright holders.
“I have the utmost respect for the state, but it is absolutely impossible to allow pirated content in theaters. Because it balances both state support for cinema and, in principle, all Russian cinema. When you release a movie, the theater returns you 50% of the rental fee. If we allow “piracy”, that means he can keep 100% of the cinema to himself. This means that it will be profitable for the cinema to play only Western films and keep 100% of the money for itself. And there will be no screenings of Russian films, because they will have to share. Accordingly, cinemas receive an incredible bonus. They just play pirated movies, make money, and Russian cinema is dying. This is absolutely unacceptable. Legal issues aside, this cannot be done so as not to ruin the film industry in Russia. He is already not in the best condition, but it is not worth finishing his work at all, ”said Andreasyan.
Previously, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitri Medvedev, in an interview with RT, supported the use of pirated Western content in the context of imposing sanctions on Russia. Medvedev noted that there was no talk of legalizing piracy in the Russian Federation and introducing appropriate laws, and since then “Russian legislation based on the Bern, Geneva Intellectual Property Convention” would be a matter of question.
“But the fact that I welcome the use of pirated content in an environment where we are besieged is absolutely true. The more different content, the better,” the politician said.
This is not the first time that the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation has expressed his approval for the pirated consumption of Western content. In March, he expressed his belief that Russian users should be able to access Western music and movies through pirated sources.