MOSCOW, June 24 (UPI) -- The opening ceremony of the 28th Moscow International Film Festival lasted only 45 minutes -- a record for brevity.
Film Festival President Nikita Mikhalkov explained that cinema workers had to cater to the sports fans' tastes and preferences, squeezing the ceremony in Friday between two live TV broadcasts from the world soccer cup finals in Germany, said Itar-Tass.
The festival's opening was held in front and inside the Pushinsky cinema and concert hall in downtown Moscow, bringing together cinema workers, statesmen, politicians and celebrities. The festival's prizes were presented first followed by jury members rising to the podium for introduction. The festival's president handed over to the chief juror, film director Andrzej Zulawski, of Poland, the symbol of his powers -- a chain with the image of St. George.
Mikhalkov and Zulawski declared the 28th Moscow film festival open. At the end of the ceremony Russian presidential adviser Yuri Laptev read a message of greeting from President Vladimir Putin.
