OREANDA-NEWS  The Cinema Fund suspended financial activities and selection of distributors of Russian films to receive subsidies due to the absence of the Executive Director.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed an order to terminate the powers of the Executive Director of the Cinema Fund Anton Malyshev on October 17. A new Manager has not yet been appointed.

"We inform you that the financial activities of the Cinema Fund in terms of expenditure operations on the accounts of the Fund temporarily suspended due to the absence of the Executive body, which led to the occurrence of unfulfilled obligations of the cinema Fund to pay taxes, as well as civil contracts",-stated in the letter. In addition, the Fund points out that "a competitive selection for the provision of financial support to film organizations engaged in the rental of national films in the IV quarter of 2018 and the I quarter of 2019, is not possible."

The cinema Fund co-finances the vast majority of Russian films that have been released in cinemas in recent years.

Earlier, the government approved a new Charter of the Fund, under which the Director of this organization is now appointed by the government on the proposal of the Ministry of Culture. These changes were insisted by the Minister of culture Vladimir Medinsky, who thus expects to gain more control over the Fund.

In place of Malyshev Minister recommended the current Director of the Museum of cinema Larisa Solonitsyn. Solonitsyn-professional film critic, editor-in-chief of the newspaper of the Union of cinematographers. She runs a film Museum since 2014 she has no experience in the producing and manufacture of mass commercial cinema in the film Fund.