The film directed by a Ukrainian filmmaker received seven nominations for the Russian film Award

The scandalous film directed by Mikhail Lokshin "The Master and Margarita" is nominated for the Russian film award "Nika" in seven categories. This is stated on the official portal of the Russian Academy of Cinematographic Arts.

The picture became a contender for the award in the categories: "The best feature film", "The best cinematography", "The best male role", "The best female role", "The best work of a sound engineer", "The best work of an artist", "The best work of a costume designer".

Recall, Lokshin lives in the United States, on social networks he has repeatedly spoken out against Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. In the director's social networks, posts have been preserved both in support of Navalny and with sympathy for Ukraine. Moreover, he published a number of posts during the filming of the film. The production companies of the project "Master and Margarita" — "Mars Media" and "Profit" — issued a joint statement. They explained that the film began shooting in 2018, and the entire shooting process was completed in the fall of 2021 — before the start of a special military operation. At the same time, the director, who later began publishing posts in support of Ukraine, went back to the United States, of which he is a citizen.

As EADaily reported, commenting on the scandal with the director supporting Ukraine, which broke out immediately after the release of the film in Russian distribution, Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova stated that due to the incorrectly chosen civic position of one of the participants, it is impossible to close a large multi-year project. She clarified that about two hundred people took part in the creation of the painting, for whom the project became a common "child", because of one person it is impossible to leave "viewers without a picture", and the whole team without their brainchild. Lyubimova also stressed that she does not receive any money from the rental of the painting from those people who left.

At the beginning of November last year, it became known that The Master and Margarita was heading to the American Film Market (AFM) to find a Western distributor. Luminosity Pictures joined the project as a sales agent.

Later, Mars Media stated that an illegal screening of the film "The Master and Margarita" took place in France without the consent of the copyright holder.