Russia's Moscow International Film Festival and St Petersburg International Festival of Festivals are tying up.

The two events will now be held in overlapping slots and share films in their out-of-competition Panorama sections. The link up means Moscow will this year move from its traditional date in late July to June 21-30. St Petersburg will run June 23-29.

Jury members at Moscow this year will include Sundance's Geoff Gilmore and former Berlin International Film Festival chief Moritz de Hadeln. Guests confirmed so far include directors Moshen Makhmalbaf and Roger Corman, both of whom will have retrospectives.

Moscow's international competition is nearly complete, with films including Sundance Grand Prix winner Believer, Korea's Real Fiction, Poland's Keep Away From The Window, Iran's Under The Skin Of The City and the Czech Republic's Victims And Murderers. A side-bar titled Social Realism Today And Yesterday will include screenings of Erin Brockovich and Dancer In The Dark.