ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the films of Oksana Bychkova and those of Anna Melikian, whose film Mermaid won acclaim at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and whose latest films garnered back-to-back Grand Prizes at the Kinotavr Festival. Women directors also gravitated to Moscow, hence its frequent appearance in their films. Anna Melikian, for example, filmed all of her award-winning films in Moscow, presenting it as the cultural capital of Russia and the sole venue where romantic encounters between representatives of different cultures were possible. The film vividly depicts how the creative class has grown weak and that its degradation has put an end to dreams of success in the big city. More and more filmmakers who disagree with the policies of the present administration are considering crowdfunding to realize new projects, rather than look for support from the Ministry of Culture or the Cinema Fund.
