The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has decided to cancel all further screenings of the documentary film “Russians at War,” according to a statement released on Sept. 12.
The film, directed by Anastasia Trofimova, was screened earlier in September at the Venice Film Festival where it was denounced by the Ukrainian government as a blatant work of propaganda.
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Trofimova had been embedded with a Russian battalion in eastern Ukraine for over six months, but the film showed none of the horror that nearly all other chroniclers of Russia’s full-scale invasion have recorded for at least the past 31 months. Her earlier films were produced by RT, the Russian Federation’s English language “news agency” now banned in many countries as a Kremlin propaganda tool.
“TIFF is forced to pause the upcoming screenings of ‘Russians at War’ on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as we have been made aware of significant threats to festival operations and public safety,” the statement said.
TIFF noted that this is an unprecedented move for the festival. “As a cultural institution, we support civil discourse about and through films, including differences of opinion, and we fully support peaceful assembly. However, we have received reports indicating potential activity in the coming days that poses significant risk; given the severity of these concerns, we cannot proceed as planned.”
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The statement emphasized that the decision to suspend screenings was made “to ensure the safety of all festival guests, staff, and volunteers.”
Yet the organizers stated that they stood by their initial decision to screen the film.
“This has been an incredibly difficult decision. When we select films, we’re guided by TIFF’s Mission, our Values, and our programming principles. We believe this film has earned a place in our festival’s lineup, and we are committed to screening it when it is safe to do so,” the statement concludes.
Ukraine’s Consul General in Toronto, Oleh Nikolenko, welcomed the move, calling it “the only right decision.”
“Ceasing by the Toronto International Film Festival of the screening of ‘Russians at War’ by a former Russia Today documentary filmmaker is the only right decision. This project has already done significant damage to the festival’s reputation and given Russia a chance to further undermine democracy,” Nikolenko said.
He promised that Ukraine would “continue to fight against Russian propaganda in every corner of the world using all peaceful and legal means.”
The official description of the film, a co-production by Canada and France, says it tells the stories of Russian soldiers in order to help viewers “better understand the war.”
Before the TIFF decision to suspend the screening, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland denounced the decisions to both screen the film and the use of Canadian taxpayer money to fund its production: “Ukrainian diplomats and the Ukrainian Canadian community have expressed really grave concerns about that film [“Russians at War”] and I do want to say I share those concerns.”
Freeland went on to explain why the film and TIFF’s rationale have angered the Ukrainian community: “We have to be really clear that this is a war where there is no moral equivalency. This is a war of Russian aggression. This is a war where Russia is breaking international law and committing war crimes.
“There is very clearly good and evil in this war. Ukrainians are fighting for their sovereignty and democracy around the world. And we [Canadians] as a country have to be very, very clear that there can be no moral equivalency in our understanding of this conflict. It’s not right for Canadian public money to be supporting the screening and production of a film like this.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 10, about a thousand activists had protested the festival’s plans to air the documentary.
Under pressure from Ukrainian diplomats and the Ukrainian community, the Canadian agency TVO, which financed the film, said it would no longer support it.
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