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“The Master and Margarita” filmmaker Michael Lockshin is locked in a legal battle over his blockbuster Russian-language adaptation of the celebrated Soviet novel, with the director accusing two producers of blocking his efforts to bring his movie to U.S. cinemas.

The lawsuit, which was filed by sales agent Luminosity Pictures and shared with Variety, alleges that producers Svetlana Migunova-Dali and Grace Loh, who are planning their own English-language adaptation of the book, cannot prove legitimate ownership of the rights to the novel.

The suit also contends that “The Master and Margarita” — which was first published in the 1960s — is in the public domain, “ensuring that neither this group nor anyone else can block the film’s release,” according to Lockshin.

With the director expecting a court date to be set in the coming weeks, producers Migunova-Dali and Loh are firing back, with their lawyer dismissing the case as a...

An adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s iconic Russian novel “The Master and Margarita” is inching closer to a Western release as it heads to AFM this week.

The feature, directed by Michael Lockshin (“Silver Skates”), was a victim of the sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, despite both Locksin and the film itself being critical of Putin’s authoritarianism.

With the film’s rights now in the clear, Luminosity Pictures have boarded the project as sales agent, launching at AFM.

“The Master and Margarita” stars August Diehl (“Inglourious Basterds”), Claes Bang (“Bad Sisters”), Evgeniy Tsyganov (The Man Who Surprised Everyone”) and Yulia Snigir (“A Good Day to Die Hard”). Lockshin co-wrote the screenplay with Roman Kantor based on Bulgakov’s semi-autobiographical and anti-authoritarian novel, which has sold over 100 million copies internationally and been translated into over 40 languages.

The film, set in the Stalinist Soviet Union of the 1930s,...

Baz Luhrmann is no longer attached to the long-awaited English-language adaptation of Russian novel “The Master and Margarita,” Variety has learned.

A seminal 20th century novel, Bulgakov first wrote “The Master and Margarita” in the Soviet Union in the 1930s but it was not published until some decades after the author’s death. The fantastical story, inspired by Faust, sees the Devil visit the Soviet Union and includes elements of satire, Christianity, comedy and the supernatural.

It was first reported in 2019 that Luhrmann planned to develop a film based on the iconic book via his joint-venture company with Len Blavatnik, Baz & Co. At the time Luhrmann did not commit to directing it.

But a movie failed to materialize and Luhrmann instead went on to direct his Oscar-nominated “Elvis” biopic and limited series “Faraway Downs.” Now the director has stepped back from the project entirely. Variety understands there was concern over the book rights.

German star August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds, A Hidden Life) and Oscar-nominated actress Andrea Riseborough (Birdman, To Leslie) have signed on to star in The Noise of Time, a new drama about the life of Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich and his wife Nina, adapted from Julian Barnes’ book of the same name.

Two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton (The Father, Dangerous Liaisons) is adapting Barnes’ novel for the screen, with Polish director Jan Komasa (the Oscar-nominated Corpus Christi) attached to direct.

The film will trace the trajectory of Shostakovich’s life and career, beginning in 1936 when the 30-year-old composer first faced Stalin’s wrath after one of his operas is condemned as counter-revolutionary. He escapes execution but for decades Shostakovich is forced to be a cultural representative of the Soviet state, and struggles to maintain the integrity of his music.

Beta Cinema is handling world sales on the film and will be...

Beta Cinema is launching pre-sales at Cannes on a big-screen version of Julian Barnes’ novel The Noise Of Time that is being adapted by two- time Academy Award winner Christopher Hampton and will star August Diehl and Andrea Riseborough.

Polish filmmaker Jan Komasa, who was Oscar nominated for his 2019 feature Corpus Christi, is lined up to direct the fictionalised account of the life of composer Dimitri Shostakovich in Stalinist Russia.

Diehl will star as Shostakovich, while Riseborough will play his wife Nita, Shostakovich’s wife and intellectual equal.

The story follows the trajectory of the Russian composer’s life and career,...

Beta Cinema is launching pre-sales at Cannes on a big-screen version of Julian Barnes’ novel The Noise Of Time that is being adapted by two- time Academy Award winner Christopher Hampton and will star August Diehl and Andrea Riseborough.

Polish filmmaker Jan Komasa, who was Oscar nominated for his 2019 feature Corpus Christi, is lined up to direct the fictionalised account of the life of composer Dimitri Shostakovich in Stalinist Russia.

Diehl will star as Shostakovich, while Riseborough will play his wife Nita, Shostakovich’s wife and intellectual equal.

The story follows the trajectory of the Russian composer’s life and career,...

Italian media company Be Water, which is in Cannes for the first time, has announced its full roster of partners and scope of business activities comprising film, documentary and scripted TV production as well as theatrical film distribution, podcasts and live events.

While details of the company’s scripted productions are being kept under wraps, Be Water has announced the lineup of films they are releasing locally theatrically in collaboration with Italy’s Medusa, which is handling booking and billing. Besides “Oh, Canada,” the Be Water lineup includes Nicolas Cage horror-thriller “Longlegs,” directed by Osgood Perkin; Russian-American director Michael Lockshin’s “The Master and Margarita” with Claes Bang and August Diehl; and action family adventure “Jim Button and the Wild 13.”

The Rome-based shingle is operating with what is being described as a holistic approach to content production that is congenial to the digital age, which is certainly a novelty for Italy.

Michael Lockshin’s film adaption of Bulgakov’s anti-censorship masterpiece has become a box office hit in Russia against all odds

In an ironic twist, Russia’s wartime box office is being dominated by a blockbuster adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita, a film that denounces censorship and was filmed by an American director who is “vocally anti-war”.

One leading film critic, Anton Dolin, told the Guardian it was the “best commercial film ever shot in [Vladimir] Putin’s Russia”. A movie’s runaway success can work against it in Russia now: the film has had to run the gauntlet of pro-Kremlin propagandists and censors, and in true Hollywood fashion it has triumphed against the odds.

Just days after the Russian blockbuster “The Master and Margarita” surged to the top of the domestic box office, Kremlin cronies, pro-war propagandists and an army of online trolls have waged a campaign to discredit the film and its director, Michael Lockshin, a U.S. citizen who was raised in the Soviet Union and has been outspoken in his opposition to the war in Ukraine.

A source close to the film, who asked not to be named out of fear of potential repercussions, tells Variety that the movie’s staggering success and pointed critique of authoritarian rule has struck a nerve in right-wing circles at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on any form of dissent.

“The propagandists are both envious and also hateful that a movie with an anti-censorship, anti-totalitarian, anti-war message is getting so much popularity, that they have doubled down,” the source said.

Exclusive: Roman Kantor has signed with CAA for representation in all areas.

The Moscow-based screenwriter recently penned an adaptation of Anna Karenina for Netflix. The contemporary reimagining of the Leo Tolstoy classic is the streamer’s first-ever Russian original drama series.

Kantor previously scripted contemporary thriller To The Lake, which debuted on the Russian platform Premier, and was subsequently acquired by Netflix.

He also wrote The Silver Skates, which was the first Russian film to be released as a Netflix Original. The sweeping period romance, which Michael Lockshin directed in his feature debut, opened the 42nd Moscow Film Festival, going on to chart on Netflix’s Top 10 list in 51 countries.

Kantor is also writing Woland, an adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita, which is tentatively set for release in 2022.

He continues to be represented by Aleksey Ageyev at PlusSeven Management.

Exclusive: German actor August Diehl, whose credits include The Young Karl Marx, Inglourious Basterds and A Hidden Life, has signed on to play the lead role in big-budget Russian drama Woland.

The $15M project is a loose adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel The Master and Margarita, one of the most read books in Russia’s history. Michael Lockshin (Silver Skates) is directing from a screenplay by Roman Kantor and Michael Lockshinbased.

Starring alongside Diehl are Yulia Snigir and Evgeniy Tsyganov. Set in Moscow in the 1930s, the film will weave together the novel’s narrative with Bulgakov’s own history in Russia. It will follow a promising young writer who at the height of his career finds himself in the middle of a scandal of both literary and political nature – his new novel is being crushed by harsh idealistic critics, who say that his vivid depiction of Christ...

Russian film promotion body Roskino has organized a virtual content market showcasing the latest Russian productions to international buyers. Unspooling from June 8-15, the Key Buyers Event: Digital Edition features a program of live presentations, pitches, panel discussions, and matchmaking sessions, along with a dedicated co-development and co-production section and a screening room with more than 150 hours of Russian film, TV, digital and animated content. Here are some of the key projects from up-and-coming Russian producers to look out for:

“Psycho”

Producers: Alexey Kiselev, Sergei Bondarchuk, Anastasia Koretskaya, Vyacheslav Murugov, Maxim Rybakov (Rent A Video Studio)

Director: Fedor Bondarchuk

Genre: TV series/psychological drama

The series revolves around the lonely and confused inhabitants of a major city, who live to feed the ambitions of their egos. They have been led away from happiness, peace of mind, and even themselves by values that have been dreamed up and imposed on them.

Vadim Vereshchagin, CEO of leading Russian production and distribution company Central Partnership, says it’s time for the world to give a second look to Russian cinema—particularly the slick commercial titles that are racking up boffo box office back home.

“The key thing for us right now is to explain to the foreign buyers primarily, ‘Look, we’ve got great films. We’re not asking the same amount of money as Hollywood independent studios would. But you get the same [quality],’” he says.

Central Partnership began in the 1990s as a television production outfit, before branching out into distribution of mostly arthouse fare. In the early 2000s, it began moving toward mainstream titles, and since 2009 has been the exclusive distributor for Paramount Pictures in Russia. Its library includes films from top U.S. and European studios, as well as an extensive catalog of arthouse and commercial Russian movies.

The company’s current slate,...

This year, 831 Loews is home to the “Created in Moscow” brand, which allies 17 Russian companies. The branding is supported by the Moscow Export Center, which recognizes the contribution made by the creative industries to the Russian economy. The “Created in Moscow” lineup will be featured in a presentation on the Venice stage at the Loews building on Nov. 7 at 10 a.m.

Although Russia has many fine arthouse auteurs, at Afm buyers can find a strong selection of commercial, mainstream titles from Russia, including many genre pics and CG animated features.

Eugenia Markova, director of industry relations at Russia’s Expocontent, says: “Russia is facing year-on-year 20% sales growth on the global market. The local film industry is not only about art-house and animation – although these two are traditionally strong. Russia is producing more and more original content of all types and genres, targeting wider audiences.”

Art Pictures Studio is selling helmer Fedor Bondarchuk’s “Invasion,...