Depardieu to make Chechnya movie

French actor Gerard Depardieu plans to make a movie about Chechnya, the regional government reported on Monday, after he arrived in the republic to meet local leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

“I want to film a movie here to show that one can make a movie in Grozny, a big movie,” said Depardieu, who received Russian citizenship in January from President Putin. “I can’t disclose any details about the movie, but I know we will come back here, and it’s only the beginning,” the actor was quoted as saying by the Chechen government’s website.

Depardieu is no stranger to Chechnya, a North Caucasus region which has been at the center of over two decades of violent conflict between Islamist separatists and forces loyal to Moscow. He visited Grozny last October for Kadyrov's 36th birthday, when he said: “Glory to Chechnya! Glory to Kadyrov!"

Kadyrov hosted a dinner in his honor with a show by Chechen dancers on Sunday. “I wanted to see what I saw several months ago – your dances. This is the first reason [for my visit],” Depardieu told reporters in Grozny.

Russian state television showed Depardieu joining in a traditional Caucasus dance known as the lezghinka, with a locally-dressed woman, and cheerfully hugging Kadyrov.

Kadyrov has previously hosted famous actors on visits to the republic, including Jean-Claude Van Damme and Hilary Swank.