MOVIES - March 31, 1989

The Glasnost Film Festival, a package of 22 Soviet documentary films said to be uncensored and covering such themes as the Afghanistan war, Stalin’s repressions, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, alcoholism, religion and women’s rights, is making its way across the United States. Playing on campuses and in art film theaters, the project is designed to provide Americans with a candid view of life in the Soviet Union. The festival previewed in Washington where “the audience could not believe what they were seeing--that Russians could make such documentaries,” said Michael Brainerd of the Citizen Exchange Council, coordinator of the tour. “These films are a real eye-opener. Some of them were released in theaters and on TV over the dead bodies of some very influential people who wanted them suppressed. They are very critical of people in authority.” The tour will end at UC Santa Barbara on May 5, and includes a stop in Los Angeles on May 1. Eleven Soviet screenwriters, directors and cinematographers are traveling with the films.