One of the best ways to connect to a foreign culture is through its media. Of course, not every movie or TV show is full of objective truth, but they do show us how people from that country think, what their values are and give us at least a glimpse of how they may actually live. And also, movies are just plain fun, even without a sociological slant!
One of the simplest and cheapest events you can organize for your chapter of the International Russophile Movement would be a Russian Movie Night! Whether you’d want to watch something with subtitles or dubbing is up to you, the main thing is that over the years Russia has produced a very large amount of TV shows and movies that are often free for anyone to access.
Just one example would be that MosFilm’s entire library of movies from the Soviet era are on YouTube and totally free to view. All of these movies have subtitles in various languages but if you install Yandex Browser onto your device then you can get an instantly dubbed version of any video in fairly high quality. This will give you a huge selection of classic films that will give you a look at how Russia saw the world during that period and entertain you along the way. The comedy films by the director Leonid Gaidai tend to be easy to understand even in translation, have universal appeal, are non-offensive, and are quite a treat to watch.
Russia has multiple “Netflix-like” streaming services full of fresh content:
wink.ru
start.ru
kinopoisk.ru
okko.ru
smotrim.ru
All of the above claim to offer the chance for you to watch the recent international smash hit kids’ movie “Cheburashka 2” along with a lot of other content for free. Of course the paid features of these services may not be accessible in some countries, you will have to experiment with these a bit on your own to see how and if they work for your chapter.
It’s not about the movie it’s about Russia… and the snacks
Of course getting together to watch a movie should be a true social event with plenty to eat and lots of tea to drink, along with a nice discussion of the movie afterwards. Anyone anywhere with a smartphone can watch a movie, so if you are going to do a movie night it needs to have a bit more of a structure or a purpose and the film itself should be merely an excuse to have a nice conversation. It is much like a “coffee table book”, something to spark discussion with guests. In Russia having visitors over with “an empty table” would be a major faux pas, thus food and drink are absolutely necessary for everyone to have a good time!
And remember, some people are shy, so make sure you give everyone a chance to give their opinion on the movie and what it says about Russian culture. A big part of said Russian culture is being inclusive and so help your shy brothers and sisters out in this regard.