Israel's Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi signed an agreement with Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova to facilitate cooperation between Israeli and Russian filmmakers.
The agreement was reached after nearly 15 years of negotiations, which were first initiated by Israel in 2009.
"Now colleagues from Russia and Israel can exchange experiences, create films together, and work with film archives," said Lyubimova, who has been sanctioned by the European Union and the US. "We look forward to seeing Israeli filmmakers in the competition programs of our international film festivals and in public discussions. We are also preparing to expand the distribution capabilities of Russian-Israeli films."
Ben Zvi welcomed the deal, stating "I'm sure there will be a lot of joint films. Producers are interested in sharing experiences with each other. Israeli films are very strong and shot at a high level. The Russian public will be able to appreciate them."
Anna Zharova, co-founder and CEO of the Israeli-Ukrainian Alliance, expressed outrage at the signing of the deal, writing on Facebook "Have our Culture Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry lost their minds?!"
"The agreement on joint film production with Russia 'was initiated 15 years ago,' since 2009, and they decided to sign it in the midst of a full-scale war, where a terrorist country with a dictatorial regime invaded the territory of an independent state, and in which cinema and theater today became the main instruments of fascist propaganda?"
Zharova called for the agreement to be frozen, saying "(If initially there are no thinking people in the Foreign Ministry, then it will have to be corrected after the fact)!"
"Here is a real f&%* up already on the part of our government, which needs to be urgently responded to!"
International boycott of Russian entertainment industry
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, international film companies have pulled their business from Russia.
Disney, WarnerMedia, Sony, Paramount, and Universal Pictures have suspended the presentation of their films in Russia and some have left the Russian market entirely.
Russian delegates were banned from the Cannes Film Festival. Last year, IMAX banned the use of its equipment in Russia.
Last month, shows planned by the Russian Lenkom Theater at Tel Aviv's Habima Theater were canceled after over 5,000 Russian-speaking Israelis signed a petition in protest. Actors at the Lenkom Theater openly supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Lenkom Theater responded to the cancellation in an open letter published in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, saying that they had been very excited to perform in Israel and had made extensive efforts to organize the shows, including working for free.
The theater said it received threats and verbal abuse, lamenting that "we did not receive any clear position from the state theater or the Israeli authorities, nor did we receive any security guarantees."
"The Israeli 'Ivans who do not remember their kinship' (a Russian phrase denoting a person without beliefs and traditions), writhing in impotent anger, depicting victorious rejoicing, only once again demonstrated the unsightly appearance of the 'defenders of Ukraine,' sitting well-fed on the state necks of various countries."
The theater additionally claimed that the people opposed to the shows were supporting a country full of antisemitism and Russophobia, stating "Such naive blindness has already led to the Holocaust and World War II."