2024-09-09 12:24:26
Documentary filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova allegedly spent seven months alongside the occupiers near the front line in Ukraine without the Kremlin’s knowledge. In her new film, Russians at War, she peeked behind the curtain of a unit operating as part of Russia’s aggressive war in eastern Ukraine. A probe into the lives of soldiers of the Russian Federation premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it faced criticism.
Trofimova allegedly joined the unit, which is making its way through eastern Ukraine, without the Kremlin’s permission. | Video: Reuters
“In Russia, they are heroes who never die. In the West, they are mostly just war criminals,” the Russian-Canadian director told journalists before the premiere of her film, which was supposed to show that even the ongoing war in Ukraine is not black and white.
The documentary Russians at War was presented in the “Out of Competition” category at the 81st Venice Film Festival. According to her claim, Trofimova joined the unit that operates in the east of Ukraine without the permission of the Kremlin. The author of the film previously collaborated with the Kremlin-funded propaganda television RT (formerly known as Russia Today).
The work is supposed to be a portrait of ordinary men trying to understand why they are at the front. Many of them decided to go to the front voluntarily. Some are motivated by the desire to avenge their deceased friends, others went to war so that their children would not have to be involved. More often, however, Russian soldiers admit that they are fighting in Ukraine only for money, and they are increasingly surprised by how the occupation continues to drag on. “For me, the biggest shock was to see how ordinary they are. Guys with a sense of humor, with their own understanding of what happens in the war,” described Trofimova.
Occupiers from the unit fight in outdated weaponry and drive in vehicles that offer little protection against a possible strike by Ukrainian forces. A tense atmosphere dominates here, fatigue, alcohol and cigarettes are ubiquitous. But the documentary also captured, for example, a mistaken attack by a Russian drone on its own soldiers.
According to Reuters, however, the film shows only brief footage of the actual fighting and does not give any weight to the damage and violence that Russian forces have caused in Ukraine. In addition, one of the soldiers in the documentary directly rejects the claim that Russian troops have committed war crimes.
The director herself stands by the fact that during filming she did not catch any evidence that the unit was behind war crimes. “This movie doesn’t have to be a bridge, but I want it to be at least a rope that I can swing and that helps us see each other,” she said.
The producers of the film faced sharp criticism in Venice. Philippe Levasseur of Capa Presse, in response to the negative response from the audience, noted that the documentary “Russians at War” will be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival next week together with the film “Viktor” about a deaf photographer deployed in the Ukrainian army. Another producer, Cornelia Principe, said that even though the film doesn’t deal with war crimes, that doesn’t mean they don’t happen.
There’s no point in hiding it anymore. A new Ukrainian weapon wreaks havoc on several sections of the front (article with video here)
Several videos show the use of a drone with an incendiary mixture of thermite | Video: X/OSINTtechnical