Speaking at a press-conference for the second installment of his latest film, The Inhabited Island, Bondarchuk was asked to speak on symbolism in the movie.  The futuristic sci-fi flick, based on a 1971 novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, takes place on a planet ruled by a military dictatorship, where authorities use a network of towers as mind-control devices over the population.

Bondarchuk, a member of the ruling United Russia party, told the audience that “we are heading into the toilet,” suggesting that the film’s towers represented propaganda and the complete lack of media freedom in Russia.  The words were picked up in the Russian blogosphere, spreading like wildfire after they appeared on the Kasparov.ru online newspaper.

With his speech public, the director went on the defensive, recanting what he had said and expressing disgust at Kasparov.ru.  Speaking with the PolitOnline internet publication, Bondarchuk said, “I feel downright unpleasant – I’ve been smeared…  I was talking about [a quote] from a Serebrennikov film, ‘Russian film is in the toilet, only Fyodor Bondarchuk is a cool guy,’ and they transferred these words to the country.  I said nothing of the sort!  Everyone knows my position and what I say about the president perfectly well.”

Bondarchuk went on to clarify that America, not Russia was descending into totalitarianism:

“I really did speak about newspapers, but that we’re heading, that there’s a totalitarian regime – I was actually talking about America.  They organized such a mess – changing two words and coming out with this… I always said that I support United Russia and can speak freely, make films in a free country.  I said ‘Thank God that I don’t live in Belarus, where they banned the screening of The Inhabited Island.’  But they don’t write this!  One more time – the phrase was said about a motion picture, it was a quote.  They’ve completely lied through their teeth at Kasparov.ru.”

A full transcript of the press-conference (Rus), however, seems to contradict Bondarchuk’s later comments.

A listener asks the director, “What do you associate with these towers in our country?”  After a pause, Bondarchuk responds:

“We’re heading into the toilet… There are no newspapers, no radio.  There’s only the internet.  When we had Yeltsin, people ran to watch the television, which was full of substantial and candid programs.  And now the newspaper headlines have started to resemble propaganda times.  There are no alternatives visible, and this is frightening.  I can speak on this for a long time, but then I’ll have problems…”

It is unclear what problems Bondarchuk was referring to, and what the consequences of the director’s words will be.

“We will invite distinguished film directors, cinematographers, the best film crews,” Avdeyev said. He noted that a major goal of the initiative is to foster the creation of “film-reels that have a humanitarian, spiritual, [and] patriotic character.” “Starting in 2009, we will have state contracts with significant financing,” he went on to say.

The Minister’s statements come at a time when the government is taking a keener interest in Russia’s film industry. The State remains the country’s largest film producer, and widely subsidizes films by certain directors and on certain themes. Funding also comes indirectly, through Kremlin-affiliated businessmen and non-profits, such as the Fund to Support Patriotic Films, which is backed by the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Avdeyev noted that the share of Russian movies played in theaters was steadily rising, and was now close to 30%. As comparison, 95% of films shows in the US are home-grown, according to the Kommersant-Vlast magazine. French and Italian films, one the other hand, hold 36.5 and 31.7% share of their respective film markets.

“Nevertheless, 70 percent [of films shown in Russia] are the screening of low-grade American production,” Avdeyev said.

The Minister also announced that a new program meant to replace film-reel theaters with digital ones has already started this year.

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Read more about the Russian government’s growing role in the domestic film industry.