‘Russians at War’ to Screen at TIFF, Despite Political Pressure to Drop Controversial Doc

The Toronto Film Festival has confirmed Russian-Canadian director Anastasia Trofimova will screen her controversial documentary Russians at War on Friday after a world premiere in Venice.

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“The film will make its North American premiere later this week, as scheduled,” TIFF organizers said on Wednesday in a statement. A representative for Trofimova said the Toronto-based filmmaker had no comment on TIFF going ahead with the first public screening on Friday.

That decision by TIFF came in the face of political pressure from Deputy Canadian Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is of Ukrainian background, and Ukrainian Consul General Oleh Nikolenko. “Ukrainian diplomats and the Ukrainian Canadian community have expressed really grave concerns about that film, and I do want to say I share those concerns,” Freeland told reporters on Tuesday.

Controversy around the film first emerged at the Venice Film Festival, where the film had its world premiere. Trofimova sparked a backlash after the film’s press conference on the Lido when she defended the film, which she made while embedded with a Russian army battalion in Eastern Ukraine while making the film.

On Tuesday, around 400 Ukrainian Torontonians gathered outside TIFF Lightbox, the headquarters of the major film festival, and protested a press and industry screening for Russians at War. But TIFF organizers, while acknowledging concerns around the Canadian documentary, defended its continued presence in the official festival lineup on artistic grounds.

“Our understanding is that it was made without the knowledge or participation of any Russian government agencies. In our view, in no way should this film be considered Russian propaganda,” fest organizers stated.

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Russians at War will have a North American premiere on Friday afternoon at the Scotiabank Theatre, as originally scheduled. TIFF organizers are expected to beef up security for the film screening, both outside the cinema and in the auditorium where disruption by protesters remains a possibility.

Also Wednesday, the Documentary Organization of Canada, representing filmmakers, said it was “profoundly alarmed” by TVOntario, the provincial publicly-funded broadcaster, to withdraw production financing for Russians at War.

“Protecting the documentary creator’s ability to explore controversial subjects is vital for a healthy society. This action by the board of a public broadcaster to censor content poses a serious threat to independent media in Canada,” DOC said in a statement.

Earlier, TVOntario issued its own statement around support for Russians at War. “We have listened to the Ukrainian-Canadian community and their thoughtful and heartfelt input. TVO’s board of directors has decided to respect the feedback we have received, and TVO will no longer be supporting or airing Russians at War . ”

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