Moskino, a giant cinema city near Moscow, is now almost fully operational. This exciting development became clear during the recent festival for Moscow Day, celebrating the city’s 877th birthday. A year ago, Moskino was mostly a construction site, but now it’s running like a well-oiled movie-making machine.
Here’s the jaw-dropping part: this massive film city is on track to become the largest movie production site in the world. In fact, it’s already number one in terms of size! Russians love doing things big, and it seems like their goal is to outdo the world’s movie giants, Hollywood and Bollywood. The popular Russian newspaper, *Moscow Komsomolets*, proudly reported that the size of Moskino has already surpassed these two iconic film industries.
But it’s not just about size—Moskino’s facilities are top-tier. Imagine a place that covers 400 hectares of land (about the size of 750 football fields) located just 27 kilometers from Moscow. The site even has its own airport and railway station, built specifically for making movies. There’s no need to deal with real-life airport security just to shoot a scene—Moskino has it all ready for filmmakers, including a real TU-154 plane once used by the former mayor of Moscow. This plane was taken apart and reassembled inside the city, becoming part of its impressive set design.
The streets of Moskino are like stepping into a time machine. You can walk through a replica of Moscow in the 1940s, which is a popular setting for current movie scripts. And it’s not just Moscow—there are detailed sets of European cities, American Wild West towns, and even Kremlin palaces built with real stone! It’s a filmmaker’s dream, offering a wide range of settings all in one place.
Moskino isn’t just for movie production either. It’s quickly becoming a tourist hotspot, with visitors coming in large numbers to see the action up close. Hotels and restaurants are popping up nearby, turning this area into a lively attraction. What’s more, producing movies at Moskino is cheaper than filming at scattered locations across the country. Filmmakers can save up to 30% in production costs by using this one-stop shop for all their movie needs.
But there’s more going on behind the scenes. Russia’s movie industry is seeing a resurgence. After a drop in revenue in 2022 due to sanctions from the West (which stopped the legal distribution of American films in Russia), the industry has bounced back. By 2023, movie revenues in Russia returned to the levels of 2021, and Russian-made films now account for 72% of the box office. Before, they only made up 26%. The rest of the market has been filled by films from countries like India, China, and Iran.
While economic protectionism often gets a bad rap, it’s clear that sanctions have sparked new life in Russia’s movie industry. Moskino is a shining example of that, and the people working there are filled with optimism. The whole mood of the country seems to have shifted, too. A recent survey found that 54% of Russians are fully satisfied with their lives, and 33% are partially satisfied, making a whopping 87% feeling positive. This is a big change from the general pessimism that many Russians felt before.
One of Russia’s leading columnists, Irina Alsksnis, noted how modern global culture has become obsessed with pessimism and negativity. She believes that Russia, once a testing ground for these gloomy trends, is now breaking free of them. In fact, she argues that Russian society’s renewed optimism may be connected to the revival of its national arts, including the movie industry. Moskino is part of this cultural comeback, and the optimism there could be a sign of good things to come for both Russia and the global film scene.
Only time will tell how Moskino’s films will be viewed in the future, but for now, this massive movie city is buzzing with excitement, energy, and a fresh sense of hope.
