Russian film director Alexander Sokurov has shut down his film foundation citing hostility from Russia’s ministry of culture.
In comments reported by Russian news agency Interfax (via the Hollywood Reporter), Sokurov said the ministry’s “unfriendliness and aggressiveness” was behind his decision to close Primer Inotnatsii (Example of Intonation).
In 2018, Russian president Vladimir Putin rejected a request from Sokurov to intervene in Sentsov’s case.
Another high-profile director, Kirill Serebrennikov, was placed under house arrest after accusations of embezzlement in 2017 (dismissed as “politically motivated” by his supporters).