Dubai, UAE – The Russian film industry participated in the Dubai International Market – DICM 2022 for the second year in a row. New products from Russian companies united under the umbrella brand Russian Content Worldwide (RCW) were available for international content buyers. The RCW stand was organized by ROSKINO – an organization representing the Russian audiovisual industry in the international markets.

Inna Shalyto, CEO of ROSKINO, stated: “We appreciate the potential of DICM market to show off new Russian content and for showing us the trends in the MENA media industry and its audiences. Dubai is one of the centers of the content industry in the Middle East—so we also used the opportunity to organize business dialogs with key players in the UAE and the wider MENA region. Moreover, these days in Dubai we are organizing the Russian Film Festival to present the recent Russian movies and animations for local citizens and guests of Dubai. So, having these two events we promote Russian film industry both in professional environment and among wide audience.”

Among the feature films and series that were presented at DICM market are: a new family comedy "Chebi: My Fluffy Friend” with a cartoon character beloved by millions of kids in Russia and many other countries; sports dramas "Eleven Silent Men" (will be of particular interest to football fans) and "KAMAZ. Extreme Racing" about Russian legendary racing team KAMAZ-master: historical projects "Tobol", "Ekaterina. Pretenders” and the large-scale historical drama “Union of Salvation. The Age of Wrath."

There were also documentaries among the projects, for example, “Arctic. The Great Expedition” about the problem of global warming and the rapid melting of ice in the Arctic and "The Highest Point" about the scientific research of the planet Earth from space.

The feature films and series were presented by the following Russian companies: All Media; online cinemas START и KION; Production company Sreda; one of the top Russian broadcasters NTV; Sovtelexport, Pimanov and Partners: Odin-Media, Russkoe Film Company.

The production of feature films in Russia has almost returned to pre-pandemic figures. In 2021, Russian companies produced over 130 films.

Series production is on the rise and the export of Russian series is on a high. Last year, TV channels and VOD-platforms in Russia produced almost 230 series. Many international distributors are interested not only in buying Russian series as a ready product but also as a format.

A large number of Russian projects presented in Dubai were animations. They were presented by SMF Animation, RIKI Group, Parovoz Animation Studio, Digital TV Russia, X-Media Digital.

Among the animation projects were “Detective Chirp and the Golden Beehive”, the world's first full-length animation project created on a game engine; “The Fixies” (characters from this popular cartoon series were the mascots of the Russian pavilion at the World EXPO in Dubai in 2021) and many others.

More about Russian projects on DICM 2022

Sovtelexport has been representing the Russia Television and Radio holding's content in the Middle East and North Africa for several years. At the DICM 2022, the company presented the third season of a large-scale historical drama about Catherine the Great - “Ekaterina. Pretenders"; a modern mystical detective story "Dreamcatcher" and a documentary film "The Highest Point" about the scientific research of the planet Earth from space. The OSN TV channel included the drama “Einstein. The Theory of Love”, “Sophia” and “Zuleikha opens her eyes”. The dramatic story about the fate of Zuleikha was shown on the state-owned satellite channel Sharjah TV.

Online cinema START offered buyers projects in different genres, from classic drama to big historical epic, all of which consider the peculiarities of the regional market in terms of themes and storylines, and may be of interest to local players. The company is now finalizing the first deal for the sale of format rights in North Africa and the Middle East. In parallel, START works on new projects that may be interesting to MENA audience: one of these projects is the romantic comedy Ms. Sweet, which will also be available in English dubbing.

All Media presented the family comedy “Chebi: My Fluffy Friend”, the fantasy adventure “Red Riding Hood”, the upcoming action film “Litvyak” and the thriller “Live”. All Media also presented a film of its own production - the thriller Tibra.

Production company "Sreda" presented the crime drama "Chimera", which shows three worlds colliding in a struggle for power in a black market that claims the lives of millions and brings in billions. Earlier, they sold two seasons of the series “Method” to the MENA territory.

Pimanov and Partners presented the sports drama about football "Eleven Silent Men," which was released in 2022. The plot is based on the story of the legendary Dynamo Moscow team, which flew to the UK in 1945 to play a series of matches with the best British teams, including Chelsea and Arsenal.

Among the projects of the NTV channel (one of the top Russian broadcasters) at the DICM 2022 market were four action-packed series. Among them are the sports drama "KAMAZ. Extreme Racing", telling the story of the strongest racing team "KAMAZ-master" (the best racing drivers in the world in the class of sports trucks); the historical detective story "Noble Detective", the action of which takes viewers to St. Petersburg at the end of the 19th century; the action-packed melodrama "Dr.Driver" and the detective story "Hitman's Curse", which tells the story of a former policeman who embarked on the path of revenge, and other projects will also be presented.

Online cinema KION presented the large-scale historical drama “Union of Salvation. The Age of Wrath” (a story based on real events of the Decembrist uprising of 1825); a new family comedy “Ivan Semenov – The School Trouble Maker”; and the comedy-drama “The Kidney.”

SMF Animation brought to Dubai a cartoon “Detecitve Chirp and the Golden Beehive”, the world's first full-length animated film created entirely on a game engine, and other animation projects - Monsikids, Secrets of Honey Hills, I'll Get You! The Adventures of Peter and Wolf. Earlier, the studio had previously sold the animated series Orange Cow to E-vision to MENA territories.

Parovoz Animation Studio presented on the DICM market three animated series, for which it was looking for partners in co-production - "Tweetville," "Spaceport" and “Boo the Cat and the Good Boy." According to the company representatives, this market provides an excellent opportunity to establish partnerships in the MENA region, as it has a rich creative and business potential, and DICM allows to find new creative ideas and projects at the intersection of European and Middle Eastern cultures.

RIKI Group showed international buyers the animation projects The Fixies, Beardy Bodo. Travels, Tina and Tony and Babyriki. Digital TV Russia presented flagship projects - Be-be-bears, Fantasy Patrol, Puppies and  Kittens and Leo and Tig.

X-Media Digital presented the animated series “Princess play time” and “Cars, Cars”. The company is interested in cooperation with TV channels, online cinemas, and independent distributors.

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About Russian Content Worldwide (RCW) by ROSKINO

Russian Content Worldwide (RCW) by ROSKINO is the umbrella export brand of the Russian content industry. The mission of Russian Content Worldwide is to develop international ties and business cooperation, increase the transparency of the Russian film industry, and organize communication between Russian players whose work is focused on foreign markets, and an international audience interested in new names, original content, and new horizons in film production.