The famous Russian film director Vladimir Khotinenko, who will head up the 7th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival's jury, has held a creative meeting in Kazan with the attendees of the third international summer film school, arranged by the Russian State Cinema University (VGIK), with Kazan students and film lovers. Vladimir Ivanovich warned in the beginning he disliked monologues and preferred a dialogue with the audience. ...

— Please tell us who your favourite actor and actress are in the present-day national cinema.

— My favourite actors are Sergei Makovetzky and Yevgeny Mironov. My favourite actress is Nina Usatova. I would love to work with Inna Churikova, but we have not yet had a chance to be on the same set. Chulpan Khamatova is a wonderful actress. Liza Arzamasova is a great creature, a complete natural. She is deciding whether to study or not, since she naturally has everything, all she needs to do is train her voice. ...

— Your new film Dostoyevsky was shown on TV a short while ago. Every person has their own image of the writer. Why did you decide to show Fyodor Mikhailovich like that?

— The film was actively debated by Dostoyevsky historians. I do admit there was a lot of critique. But I think I know a lot about Dostoyevsky now. I like him the way we presented him in the film. Few people know that his wife let him go and play the roulette, giving him the last of their money, because she saw he could not write without the stress. I wanted to show a living man with passions, a little funny, with humour – different sides. ...