Russia expands film collaboration with China to deepen cultural ties: culture minister

Russia is strengthening its cinematic partnership with China through structured dialogues and expanded cultural exchanges, Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova said on Wednesday.

Lyubimova underscored film's role as a bridge in China-Russia bilateral relations in an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) on the sidelines of a China-Russia cultural exchange event held in Moscow.

The event coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia from Wednesday to Saturday, during which he is also scheduled to attend celebrations in Moscow marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War.

"Film professionals from both Russia and China now meet frequently. We held a meeting in Beijing more than a month ago. We reached a consensus with our Chinese counterparts on several collaborative projects, including historical films, children's animations, and educational projects. The Russian Ministry of Culture will place great importance on these projects and promote them, encouraging Russian filmmakers to participate in such co-production projects," she said.

The minister highlighted the growing Russian appetite for Chinese cinema, particularly among youth, as a catalyst for expanding screenings beyond major hubs.

"The Chinese Film Festival will soon open in Russia. Chinese films have many loyal fans in Russia, and Russian youth are increasingly fond of Chinese films. Therefore, we will expand the scope of Chinese film screenings in Russia, and in the future, Chinese films will be available not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg but also in other parts of Russia. In addition, China will also host the 'Russian Film Week'," said Lyubimova.

These efforts build on recent successes like the China-Russia co-production 'Red Silk,' a detective movie featuring the story of Chinese and Soviet revolutionaries in 1927, which premiered in Moscow and Berlin in February and will be screened in Chinese theaters this September.

Russia expands film collaboration with China to deepen cultural ties: culture minister

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight