The star of ‘Shakespeare in Love’ has made his first film as director in Russia. Joseph Fiennes' directorial debut, a short film entitled “The Spirit”, is dark and poetic – just like his favourite Russian saying: “How do you m

Russian actor Eduard Flerov says the eight shooting days were some of the happiest moments in his entire career.

“It’s the first time I've worked with a British director. it didn't matter it was his directorial debut – what did matter was that he is a talented person with a lot of experience, even though as an actor. But we didn’t feel it was the first time in his life he was behind the camera,” Flerov said.

It wasn't the first time the Russian World Studios had teamed up with a foreign director.

Eduard Flerov

The company owns state-of-the-art equipment, sound and editing studios and offers their services to major film companies from Russia and overseas.

Russian World Studios Head, Andrey Smirnov, says they're aiming at changing the image of Russian cinema in the world.

“We are trying to show that Russia is a country where one can and should produce films. It's very important for all of us because when we cooperate with foreign production companies we learn something. We've worked with Sony, Hallmark, HBO and made a reputation as a trustworthy company,” Andrey Smirnov said.

In any case the collaboration certainly worked out for Fiennes, as the actor turned director recently picked up a special prize in the “Cinema for Peace” category at the Berlin Film Festival for “The Spirit.”