European Producers Club Calls On Film Community To Unite Against “Disgraceful” Russian Jail Sentence For Alexander Rodnyansky

The European Producers Club (EPC) has voiced its support for Ukrainian producer Alexander Rodnyansky, after a Russian court sentenced him in absentia last week to eight-and-a-half years in prison.

The sentence was related to charges of spreading fake news about Russia’s war in Ukraine, after the producer posted on social media against Russian missile attacks on a maternity hospital in Mariupol and andother civilian targets in Kyiv, Dnieper and Zaporozhye in the early days of the 2022 invasion.

Paris-based body EPC – which gathers 160 top independent producers in Europe including Rodnyansky – said its members were “deeply troubled” by the sentence.

“Alexander embodies the very essence of what it means to be an independent producer: a champion of creative diversity and an advocate for art as a platform to explore differing perspectives on society. The harshness of the sentence imposed upon him underscores the importance of his role in this capacity,” it said in a statement.

The organization praised Rodnyansky’s 30-year career spanning some 80 credits including Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Oscar-nominated Andrey Leviathan (2014) and Loveless (2016).

“His work has garnered and was nominated for some of the most prestigious awards worldwide, including the Oscar, Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix, France’s César and the Golden Globe Awards,” said the EPC, noting the producer is also a member of AMPAS.

“Through his dedication, Alexander has consistently upheld the right of creators to express their views, even when those views are controversial, thereby enriching the diversity of opinions and ideas essential to democratic societies.”

EPC noted Rodnyansky’s defiant response to the sentence – in which he stated: “I will continue to speak the truth” – and made an appeal for all independent producers to be protected.

“As an organization, the EPC condemns this unjust sentence and urges the media, along with the global film community, to unite against this disgraceful verdict,” concluded the statement

Rodnyansky, who was born in Kyiv but spent much of his career working in Russia, fled the country shortly after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Prior to the war in Ukraine, hia productions regularly represented Russia in the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards, including Leviathan (2014) and Loveless (2017) and most recently Beanpole (2019) and Unclenching The Fists (2021).

The producer’s current slate includes Laszlo Nemes’ long-awaited new picture Orphan, which is post-production, and Amy Adams- and Murray Bartlett-starrer At the Sea, from Kornel Mundruczó. Other recent credits include Israeli director Dani Rosenberg’s Of Dogs and Men