Sony to distribute IMAX 3-D film ‘Stalingrad’ in Russia
Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute “Stalingrad,” the first Russian-made feature film to be shot in the IMAX 3-D format, in the picture’s home country.
A teaser trailer for the film from director Fedor Bondarchuk will be screened at Sony Pictures Entertainment’s CinemaCon presentation on Wednesday.
“Stalingrad” is a love story set in 1942 against the backdrop of the devastating World War II battle of the same name. The Battle of Stalingrad, in which the Soviet Union finally prevailed, lasted more than five months and resulted in the deaths of nearly two million people.
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“Russia is an important market for IMAX and it was crucial that we selected a film that was ideally suited for the IMAX experience,” Greg Foster, chairman and president of IMAX Entertainment, said in a statement. “We believe that the creative vision of Fedor Bondarchuk and the filmmaking team, combined with ‘Stalingrad’s’ epic story and the immersive IMAX 3-D format, will make this a ‘must see’ for moviegoers and a milestone for both IMAX and Russian cinema.”
Russia was the eighth-biggest international box office market in 2012 with $1.2 billion in ticket sales, according to a report by the Motion Picture Assn. of America, the chief lobbying arm for the major movie studios.
The film, written by Iliya Tilkin and Sergey Snezhkin, follows a group of Soviet soldiers who take refuge in a house in the portion of Stalingrad occupied by German forces. A romance develops between a Russian soldier and a woman hiding there. “Stalingrad,” which doesn’t have a release date yet, was shot on location in Russia.
“Fedor Bondarchuk is an extraordinary filmmaker and we look forward to showcasing this film as part of our CinemaCon slate presentation because international acquisitions such as this are an important part of our worldwide distribution strategy,” Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony Pictures Releasing, said in a statement.
The project is being produced by Alexander Rodnyansky, head of A.R. Films Media Corp. Also producing are Sergey Melkumov of Non-Stop Production and Dmitry Rudovsky of Art Pictures.
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