Russian Film Academy boycotts the Oscars

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The deteriorating relations between Russia and the West on a fundamental level played a role in Russia's Film Academy's decision to refrain from nominating a film for the Oscars.

The Russian Film Academy revealed this information Monday in a statement highlighting that "The presidium of the Film Academy of Russia has decided not to nominate a national film for the Oscars award of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AAMPAS) in 2022."

Pavel Chukhray, the head of the committee responsible for selecting a nomination, stated in an address that "The leadership of the Academy unilaterally decided not to nominate a Russian film for the Oscar nomination."

Yet the head of the committee responsible for selecting a nomination said on Tuesday that he had resigned in the wake of a decision taken "behind his back".

Nevertheless, Academy Award-winning film director Nikita Mikhalkov told TASS on Monday that Russia had nothing to gain by participating in the Oscars this year. He explained that "It seems to me that choosing a film that will represent Russia in a country, which in reality currently denies the existence of Russia, simply does not make sense."

Mikhalkov has previously won an Oscar for best foreign language film in 1995 for his feature film Burnt by the Sun. Despite that, the filmmaker suggested that the Eurasian region develop its own version of a film awards academy instead of the AAMPAS.

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