A Celebration of Russian Culture by Russian Émigrés - Roma Liberov

We are delighted that Roma Liberov agreed to speak to the Society again, to tell us about some of the exciting cultural projects he is currently involved in. In his talk Roma Liberov told us about the wave of emigration from Russia since February 2022. Among those who left are creators of all kinds: artists, performers, musicians, directors, poets, dancers, photographers, cinematographers and more.  Roma also told us about the multifaceted creative activities of these new émigrés, who wish to remain true to their Russian cultural identity, while building a stimulating and fulfilling cultural environment in their country of adoption and becoming part of a new community. He explained to us the vision these émigrés share of creating “a beautiful Russia of today”, beyond geographic borders, and of promoting Russian culture in the very best sense of the term.

Roma Liberov is a highly acclaimed Russian film director, screenwriter and producer. Roma was born in 1980, in Vilnius. He graduated in film direction studies at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow and for six years worked at the BBC. During the next decade he made films about various Russian writers – Yuri Olesha («Юрий Олеша по кличке “писатель”», 2009), Iosif Brodsky («Pазговор с небожителем», 2010), Georgi Vladimov («Один день Жоры Владимова», 2011), Sergei Dovlatov («Hаписано С.Д.», 2012) and Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov («Ильфипетров», 2013). And in 2015 he made a film about the life and work of Osip Mandelstam, one of the greatest Russian poets of the 20th century: «Сохрани мою речь навсегда...» (“Keep my words forever...”).