Despite the criticism: the Canadian film festival will not cancel the screening of the film about the Russian military
The Canadian International Film Festival in Toronto (TIFF) is not going to cancel the screening of the Russian film “Russians at War” (Russians at War), despite criticism from the Ukrainian community. The organizers of the festival explained their decision by the fact that the tape is the result of a Canadian-French co-production and received funding from Canadian agencies, which excludes it from the category of Russian propaganda.
“As far as we understand, it was produced without the knowledge or involvement of Russian state authorities. In our opinion, this film cannot in any way be considered Russian propaganda. While we understand the concerns expressed by many, we believe that, like the Venice Film Festival and other international festivals , who included the film in their programs, that this Canadian documentary deserves a place in our selection”,– claim organizers
Despite the protests, the film is scheduled to open in North America this week.
“As a cultural institution, we defend the right of artists and cultural workers to freely express fair political commentary and oppose censorship. As filmmakers, like all artists, work in dynamic interaction with their societies, we believe that our role as curators and presenters of films has consist in the unequivocal protection of artistic expression and the obligation to provide safe, open spaces for interaction, criticism and reflection on the work of artists”. – stated in the application.
The festival has yet to comment further on the situation, but Russians at War remains on the TIFF program.
Earlier we wrote that the film directed by Anastasia Trofimova, dedicated to the participants of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, has already caused a significant response during a screening at the Venice Film Festival on September 6. This caused a wave of protests on social networks from Ukrainians and their supporters.
Consul General of Ukraine in Toronto Oleg Nikolenko previously criticized TIFF for “whitewashing the crimes of the Russian military in Ukraine” by showing this tape. The Ukrainian Congress of Canada also drew attention to the fact that the film received funding of $340,000 from the Canadian Media Foundation.
It is also known that the director of the film, Anastasia Trofimova, previously worked for the Russian media network RT, which is under Western sanctions. She also stated that she “did not see” the war crimes of the Russian military while in the war zone.
