‘World Champion,’ ‘December,’ ‘Chernobyl’ Lead Central Partnership’s EFM Slate Variety 2/18/2021 Soaring local box office has pushed the Russian film industry to new heights in recent years, even despite a downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but Vadim Vereshchagin, CEO of leading production and distribution company Central Partnership, says introducing fresh Russian talent to the world remains his outfit’s top priority. “For us, it’s business as usual—boosting that potential,” Vereshchagin tells Variety. “We’re getting more experience on which titles we should be making. Right now, every big-budget title we make, we’re thinking about the international market as well.” The challenge, he says, “is to get the right stories being made which would be appealing to general international audiences.”