A film about the Russian military was removed from the screening of the Toronto film festival “due to serious threats”
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced its decision to cancel the screening of a film by a Russian director called “Russians at War”, citing security concerns. There was a corresponding statement made public in the evening of September 12.
TIFF organizers said they were forced to “suspend” the film’s scheduled screenings, which were scheduled to take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The main reason was information about serious threats to the festival and public safety. This decision was called unprecedented and “extremely difficult”.
“We continue to share the views expressed in our statement yesterday, however this decision was made for the safety of all festival guests, staff and volunteers.”, – it is noted in the text.
The statement also concluded that the film, in the opinion of the festival committee, “deserves a place in the festival program” and organizers hope to premiere it “when it is safe to do so”.
We will remind you that the film “Russians at War” was already shown on September 5 at the Venice Film Festival. According to the director, she spent seven months with a Russian battalion participating in combat operations in Ukraine, and was impressed by the fact that these are “absolutely ordinary guys with families and a sense of humor.”
The Ukrainian diaspora in Canada and the Consulate General of Ukraine in Toronto strongly protested against the screening of the film “Russians at War” at TIFF.
