Russian film producers were handed guidelines for making films within the framework ...

Russian film producers were handed guidelines for making films within the framework of "traditional family values." The recommendations were circulated to all the biggest market participants, RBC writes, citing a copy of the document and sources in the film industry.

▪️ The family on screen must be portrayed as a "bulwark of stability amid external turbulence," while avoiding excessive "sentimentality" and caricatured images;

▪️ In family storylines, "crisis, breakup, infidelity, irresponsibility, or abandonment of loved ones" must not be perceived as the "main emotionally appealing or aesthetically advantageous content of the work";

▪️ The following narratives should be conveyed to the audience: "Family and children are not the end of freedom, but a new level of life with different, deeper joys," "Being a mom or dad is not a step backward, but a new social status."

As the outlet notes, the recommendations are "voluntary in nature."