2024-09-18 05:32:26
A documentary called Russians at War is stirring up controversy in the film world. Although its author is against the Russian war in Ukraine, she views it precisely through the eyes of the occupiers. After the premiere in Venice, she wanted to present the new film at the Toronto festival, but the organizers canceled the screenings. Kyiv labeled the film as Kremlin propaganda and added the creator to the list of people threatening Ukraine’s security.
According to AFP, Russian-Canadian director Anastasia Trofimova spent seven months with a Russian battalion near the front line in Ukraine. According to her, the documentary is anti-war and shows the everyday life of soldiers. “In Russia, they are heroes who never die. People in the West mostly perceive them as war criminals. What shocked me the most was when I saw how they are completely ordinary guys with families, with a sense of humor and their own understanding of what is going on in that war is happening,” said Trofimová at the Venice Film Festival, where the film premiered in early September.
The statement immediately drew criticism. However, the author rejects the accusation that she serves Russian propaganda. She allegedly shot the film without Moscow’s knowledge, and she herself considers the invasion of Ukraine “unjustifiable and illegal”.
According to Ukrainians, the document is still unacceptable. “It does not address or acknowledge Russian war crimes,” the culture ministry said. “The film supports the view that Russians are victims just like Ukrainians. This is unacceptable,” adds the office, one of the reasons why it called the director a security threat to the country this Monday. She was ranked 233rd on the list of undesirable persons.
Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytkyi considers the film to be part of “a wider information war launched by Russia in an attempt to justify its aggression through culture and media”. Ukrainian critics also point out that Trofimova, a 37-year-old Moscow native, filmed her earlier documentaries about the Islamic State, for example, for the Kremlin-funded Russian state television RT, formerly known as Russia Today.
According to AFP, the film shows Russian soldiers who have absolutely no idea why they are at war. They criticize the propaganda of their own regime and admit that they are only fighting for money.
Anastasia Trofimova (pictured with her mother) presented the film at the Venice Film Festival. | Photo: Reuters
The camera captures them with a cigarette or alcohol, trying to get old Soviet-era weapons working and coming to terms with the deaths of fellow soldiers. In one scene, a Russian drone accidentally attacks its own soldiers.
A Reuters reporter also saw the document. According to him, however, it does not show even a hint of the havoc the Russian occupiers have caused in Ukraine, and when the director at one point confronts the soldier with the accusation that the Russians are committing war crimes, the person in question waves it off as “nonsense”. She no longer responds to it.
According to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, the Russians have so far committed over 140,000 war crimes in the occupied territories. Last week, for example, a captured Russian soldier described how he raped and shot innocent Ukrainian women.
The Kyiv Independent newspaper also considers the absence of any context unacceptable. “The director chose not to challenge a single fact or word that is heard on camera. She uses off-screen commentary, so she could easily explain to the audience that all they see and hear in this film is disinformation and Russian propaganda. Instead, she repeats it herself.” writes a Ukrainian newspaper.
“You will hear a lot of emotional music, you will see many tears shed for fallen comrades, and even a marriage proposal. Trofimova tries to convince us that Russians are the same as us and we should sympathize with them, even though most of them joined the army voluntarily, which on they admit to the camera,” criticizes the newspaper, according to which, for example, any criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin is also completely absent from the film.
Canadian Ukrainians protest the screening of the documentary Russians at War outside the offices of the Toronto festival. | Photo: ČTK / AP
Last week, the documentary was also supposed to be on the program of the festival in Toronto, Canada. However, the organizers eventually canceled all his screenings due to safety concerns.
“This is an unprecedented situation for us. We support dialogue in civil society, whether conducted through films or about films, including opposing views. We also support freedom of assembly,” they said. According to Variety.com, around 400 Ukrainian-Canadian protesters arrived in front of the festival’s offices. Almost 1.3 million people lived in the country before the start of the war, making the local community the largest of the entire diaspora.
“I understand that it arouses high emotions, but come and see the film,” the director told the protesters.
Ukrainian Consul General in Toronto Oleh Nikolenko and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has Ukrainian roots, however welcomed the Toronto festival’s decision.
In addition, they pointed out that the author received approximately 340,000 Canadian dollars for the project, or about 5.6 million crowns, from the Canadian Media Fund. The latter redistributes state money to artists through grants. “It is not right that a film like this should be paid for with the money of Canadian taxpayers. This is not a war where both sides are morally equal. We have a very clear separation of good and evil here,” Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Freeland emphasized.
TVO, a regional public broadcaster operating in the province of Ontario, has already distanced itself from the project and stated that, despite the original plans, it will not broadcast the film out of consideration for the Ukrainian-Canadian community.
However, according to the director, it is “wrong” and “irresponsible” if the authorities evaluate the work before anyone could see it. She and her colleagues called on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “fully investigate this affront to our democratic values in a free media”.
Video: Director Trofimovová talks about her film
Documentary filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova allegedly joined a unit making its way through eastern Ukraine without the Kremlin’s permission. | Video: Reuters