Skonieczny is an independent film and stage director, scriptwriter, author of video projects and performances. He is also a film and theatre actor who has appeared in many films including those of Agnieszka Holland and Andrzej Wajda.

Poland also weighs in again with a special retrospective programme of films by Krzysztof Zannusi titled Constants.

Director Andy Siege unspools his debut feature Beti and Amare in competition in Moscow. Siege, the son of German aid workers, grew up in Africa and Europe and his debut, which is a Romanian, USA, Spain, Canada, Germany and Ethiopia coproduction, is just as much of an international mix.

While the festival will open with Russian director Gabe Polsky’s feature documentary Red Army about the famous Soviet hockey team it will carry on the tradition of providing a platform for the Russian launch of US blockbusters with Matt Reeves’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as the closing film.

For those wanting to catch up on what is happening in contemporary cinema the Russian Programme offers one of the most comprehensive screenings of Russian film from the past year and for industry types there is the Moscow Business Square from 21-24 June.

Moscow Film Festival: Main Competition

Beti and Amare (Romania, USA, Spain, Canada, Germany, Ethiopia)
Director Andy Siege

Ir Mikalat/ Haven (Israel)
Director Amikam Kovner

Dreamland/Traumland (Germany, Switzerland)
Director Petra Volpe

Eye Am/Gozumun Nuru (Turkey)
Directors Hakki Kurtulus, Melik Saracoglu

White Yagel (Russia)
Director Vladimir Tumayev

Hardcore Disco/ Hardkor Disco (Poland)
Director Krzysztof Skonieczny
Produced by Glebokioff

Brothers. The Final Confession (Ukraine)
Director Victoria Trofimenko

Yes and Yes (Russia)
Director Valeriya Gay Germanika

My Man/Watashi-No Otoko
Director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri

The Sentimentalists/Oi Aisthimaties (Greece)
Director Nicholas Triandafyllidis

Anar Haye Naras/Unripe Pomegranates (Iran)
Director Mald-Reza Mostafavi

Reporter (Netherlands)
Director Thijs Gloger

Joryu Ingan/ The Avian Kind (South Korea)
Director Shin Younshick

Alles Inklusive/ The Whole Shebang (Germany)
Director Doris Dorrie

La Ritournelle/ Paris Follies (France)
Director Marc Fitoussi

A Most Wanted Man (UK, USA, Germany)
Director Anton Corbijn