The Russian Film Week starts in New York this Friday, premiering 13 award-winning Russian films produced over the last year. This is the 9th time the Russian Film Week is brought to New York, but this year is different: the event is designed for the English-speaking audience and the media. That's what the Russian government, which funds most of the film industry, demands.

Recently, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with the prominent Russian filmmakers and criticized them for not being able to win over the Western markets. "We possess a most rich cinematographic heritage, our films traditionally receive prestigious awards at international festivals but our product does not so far have a mass foreign audience. That means the goals of economic, cultural and humanitarian influence are not being reached," Putin said.

The New York Film Week, a government-financed effort to showcase the latest Russian films, usually attracted mostly the immigrant community. However, this year the organizers hope to attract the English-speaking New Yorkers, by hiring popular Manhattan and Brooklyn venues, bringing in students from local film schools, and putting together round tables and panels of Russian and US filmmakers. The films are subtitled into English, and prominent directors are on hand to discuss their latest movies with the audience.

Over the last few years, the US film-goers became more aware of the Russian film industry. "The Night Watch", a sci-fi thriller by Timur Bekmambetov and "The Return" by Andrey Zvyagentsev both won numerous awards at the US and Canadian film festivals. Both films failed at the box office.

According to the Russian Film Week organizers, "New York is a movie capital of the world, and the audience here is genuinely interested to see what's new in the Russian movie industry."

The 9th Annual Russian Film Week takes place from November 13 to 21. 13 films will be shown at Tribeca Performing Art Center, Lighthouse International Theater, School of Visual Arts, and Columbia University.