Ahead of the opening of Sergei Bodrov's historical epic Mongol in Russian cinemas on Sept 21, producer Sergei Selyanov of STV has indicated that the director's second outing into the life of Genghis Khan will be ready in around three years time ('not any earlier') and stressed that both films will stand on their own independently.

In an interview with the film market daily newspaper action!, he explained that 'Mongol is not called Mongol Part 1, it is simply called Mongol. But the work on the second film is only just commencing. It will concern an absolutely different period in the life of Genghis Khan.'

Distributor Nashe Kino had made a special presentation of the $20m (Euros 15m) Mongol on the last day of the film market in Sochi with an English-subtitled version and a Russian voiceover. Introducing the film to an audience of industry professionals and members of the public, Selyanov asked for their opinion as to whether the version for theatrical release should be dubbed or have a voiceover.

In the interview with action!, he explained that discussions were being held with exhibitors about which option would be best since 'the energy of the Mongolian language is wonderful and we would not want to lose this. We will probably make two or three prints with Russian subtitles for fans of authentic cinema.'

The film, which is being handled internationally by German sales company Beta Film and has sold to more than 20 territories, will be released by Picturehouse Entertainment in the US on Dec 28 and by Metropolitan Filmexport in France in January 2008.

Meanwhile, another of Selyanov's product ions, Alexei Mizgiryov's drama Hard-Hearted, which won the prizes for Best Debut and Best Screenplay in Sochi, has been invited to screen at the Molodist Film Festival in Kiev in October.

It was also learnt during the festival that Svetlana Proskurina's The Best Of Times, which was presented in the Showcase sidebar for foreign guests, has been invited to run in one of the sections at the forthcoming Venice Film Festival. The screenplay for the love triangle was written by Russian dramatist-filmmaker Ivan Vyrypaev whose feature film debut Euphoria received its premiere at the 2006 edition of Kinotavr and then began a successful festival career in Venice.

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