­What new British cinema has to offer

02.11, 23:03

As the New British Film Festival gets underway in Moscow, RT talked to British actor Luke Treadaway, who came to Moscow to present two movies at once.

01.11, 18:49

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union may have been consigned to the dustbin of history, but there is a fierce propaganda war raging for hearts and minds in movie theaters and living rooms across Russia’s 11 time zones.

31.10, 18:30

The latest drama from nonpareil Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov – Faust - has proved a success in Italy, where it has just been released.

28.10, 14:19

Those expert at using pencils and paper can create worlds of fantasy that delight kids and adults alike. No wonder animation is considered the only type of movie that works for the entire family.

Published: 03 November, 2011, 15:51

Screenshot from Mr. Nice by Bernard Rose

TAGS: Movies, Russia, Festival

The New British Film Festival has opened in Moscow, and will screen 15 movies recently mentioned and awarded at international film festivals. The screenings will run at Moscow’s Gorizont cinema.

This year the festival is taking place for the 12th time, and will as always showcase films made over the past year and a half.

The program is quite extensive, and the Russian audience is not likely to be familiar with many of the festival’s entries, as none of them have previously been screened in the country.

Among the main entries are two films by David Mackenzie. The first one, which particularly deserves attention, was screened at Sundance and won in Edinburgh. Perfect Sense starring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green is a love story of two people who are robbed of their sensory perceptions and try to preserve their feelings towards each other.

Another highlight of the program is Mr. Nice, directed by Bernard Rose and starring Rhys Ifans, Chloe Sevigny and David Thewlis. The movie is based on the popular memoirs of the international drug smuggler Howard Marks, whose network is said to have stretched across Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and North America, and involved connections with MI6, the IRA and the CIA.

Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block turns towards the recent riots in London. However instead of brave policemen, the city is protected from violence by aliens. This movie received a People's Choice Award at LA, and two more local US festivals.

The full list of films on the menu can be found on the cinema’s playbill. The festival will run through November 13.

Today: 13:41

Legendary Canadian circus company Cirque du Soleil has brought its new show Saltimbanco to Moscow. Thursday will see the premiere of the program, which will be running at the capital’s Luzhniki Arena through November 13.

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Russian Central Bank to offer unsecured loans

23.10.2009, 20:46

Russia's banking sector is recovering with greater access to liquidity globally and signs of an economic rebound. But industry leaders say consolidation is still needed, with Non Performing Loans still to be addressed.

16.09.2009, 22:30

Russia’s top government officials - responsible for the anti-crisis strategy gave parliament an update on Wednesday.

31.10.2008, 14:41

Russia is channeling tens of billions of dollars into the financial system to prop up the economy. But many Russian companies complain the banks are not passing it on.

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Published: 03 November, 2011, 22:16

Russian Central Bank

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TAGS: Crisis, Prime Time Russia, Karina Melikyan, Russian economy, Banking, Tatiana Rubleva

Russia’s banks could soon suffer as a result of their own generosity, as the huge number of loans dished out recently has depleted the padding in their cushions.

This is according to a survey by Raiffeisen bank, which has revealed serious problems on the Russian liquidity market.

Banks’ credit portfolios, the survey says, are growing at a higher rate than the amount of money they receive in deposits and this gap keeps growing. Quite soon this situation could lead to a serious shortage of money for Russian lenders.

The deposits have been accumulating since the 2008 financial crisis, during which time the economy was recovering and both individuals and companies were saving money in conditions of low consumer activity.

At the beginning of this year, the trend reversed and the demand for loans, fuelled by low credit rates, went up. At the same time, the banks’ deposit base stopped growing. After the situation on the international financial markets worsened again, it began decreasing as a result of rapid capital outflow.

In order to make saving more attractive to clients, Russia’s biggest lender, Sberbank, has already announced an increase in deposit rates. It is likely that other market players will have to follow its lead. This inevitably will reflect on the price of loans.

The head of Sberbank, German Gref, earlier forecast that banks would have to raise their interest rates in the autumn. Obviously, banks that do not survive the competition will have to leave the lending market.

The Russian Central bank announced on November 2 that it is to resume giving out unsecured loans to banks to cover a possible liquidity deficit. They will not have to secure the credit return by equities, property or other assets. However, any bank which experiences lack of liquidity will first have to prove it cannot be compensated by traditional refinancing tools.

Unsecured loans were widely used by Russian financial regulators to help lenders during the crisis years of 2008 and 2009. Now it seems they are preparing for the second wave.

Moody’s rating agency has warned Russian regulators that the volatility on international markets will negatively influence the situation with liquidity in Russia’s banking sector. It has already downgraded its development forecast from “stable” to “negative”.

03.11, 21:52

Two weeks after convicting the murderer of Spartak fan Egor Sviridov, the Moscow City Court has passed sentence on another killer of a football fan.

03.11, 22:50

A perfect getaway from Moscow’s concrete jungle, Sokolniki Park has a fascinating history and plenty of stories to tell. RT invites you on a trip into its place’s thrilling past.

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