People protest outside of Scotiabank Theatre about the documentary Russians at War playing at the Toronto International Film Festival, in Toronto, on Sept. 10.Paige Taylor White/The Canadian Press
Update: On Sept. 12, TIFF announced it was cancelling screenings of Russians at War, citing security concerns. Read more here.
The Toronto International Film Festival is standing firm on its decision to hold the North American premiere of Russians at War, one day after Ontario’s public broadcaster TVO, which helped fund the documentary, pulled its support and planned release of the production over an outcry from the Ukrainian community.
Shot in a fly-on-the-wall cinéma-vérité style, Russians at War follows Russian-Canadian documentarian Anastasia Trofimova as she spends months following Russian soldiers from their homes to the front lines of occupied Ukraine, with many of her subjects revealing feelings of confusion and disillusionment with their government. The film has sparked intense backlash since its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month.
“In our view, in no way should this film be considered Russian propaganda. While we understand the concerns expressed by many, we believe, like the Venice Film Festival and other international festivals who have programmed the film, that this Canadian documentary merits a place in our selection,” the unsigned statement from TIFF read.
With organizers noting the “suffering of the Ukrainian people as the result of an illegal Russian invasion” and pointing to TIFF’s “Programming Statement for Peace” – a note that was released this past April calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the safe return of Israeli hostages taken Oct. 7 – the festival reiterated its position Wednesday that “as a cultural institution, we stand for the right of artists and cultural workers to express fair political comment freely and oppose censorship.”
“Because filmmakers, like all artists, work in dynamic engagement with their societies, we believe that our role as curators and presenters of film must stand for an unequivocal defence of artistic expression, and a commitment to provide safe, open spaces to engage, critique and reflect on artists’ work,” the statement said.
Ahead of TIFF’s launch, Ukraine’s consul-general in Toronto, Oleh Nikolenko, urged festival organizers to pull the doc from its lineup, alleging that it whitewashes the war crimes perpetrated by Russian troops. On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has Ukrainian roots, told reporters that she had “grave concerns” about the film and the public funds that supported it. It is unclear whether either politician have seen the film, which will screen for the first time publicly in North America on Friday.
Ukrainian officials call for documentary on Russian soldiers to be removed from TIFF
Other critics of the production have noted that Ms. Trofimova previously worked for the documentary arm of RT, the Russian state-controlled media company that is banned in Canada. After quitting RTD in 2020 because of what the filmmaker describes as the change in the organization’s “relatively liberal atmosphere,” Ms. Trofimova joined the CBC, working out of Moscow.
In an interview with The Globe over the weekend, Ms. Trofimova, who has noted that she “unequivocally” believes Russia’s invasion is unjustified and illegal, countered accusations that the film received funds or support from the Russian state.
“One hundred per cent, no. I’m trying to be calm, but I want to ask how the hell does anyone think the state would pay me to go to places where Russian state media is not even allowed?” the filmmaker said. “There’s a lot of criticism online because I worked for RT. We also have to understand that Russia is the world’s biggest country and RT is Russia’s biggest broadcaster. If you can make the stories that you’re not ashamed of, then you go for it.”
The documentary, a co-production between Canada and France, was financed in association with two Canadian public broadcasters, TVO and British Columbia’s Knowledge Network, and partly funded through the Canada Media Fund, a not-for-profit organization that receives its funding from the federal government and telecommunications companies.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Chris Day, the chair of TVO’s board of directors, said that the board had decided to distance itself from the project, and will undertake a review of the network’s funding practices.
As a response to that move, the film’s producers – who include Oscar-nominated Canadian Cornelia Principe (To Kill a Tiger) – released a statement that castigated TVO’s “heat-of-the-moment decision” by the network’s management that “sends a chill across the entire independent filmmaking community in Canada.”
Shortly after TIFF released its statement, the Documentary Organization of Canada issued a similar showing of support, noting that TVO’s action “risks setting a dangerous precedent and must be immediately reversed.”
The support from Canada’s artistic community follows a similarly strong defence from Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Venice Film Festival.
“The major merit of the film consists in showing what the Russian propaganda tries to hide successfully: the Ukrainian war from the other side of the front, the one of the Russian soldiers that are sent to the front without knowing why,” Mr. Barbera said. “Very far from being an act of propaganda pro-Russia, it is an anti-war film, with a very sensible and touching human approach, as well a great artistic craftsmanship.”