TIFF won’t pull ‘Russians at War’ documentary from its schedule, despite protests

TORONTO — The Toronto International Film Festival says it’s not pulling a controversial documentary about Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine from its schedule despite outcry from Ukrainian officials and community groups who say the film amounts to propaganda.

TIFF’s statement comes a day after Ontario’s public broadcaster TVO, which helped fund “Russians at War,” announced it was no longer supporting the film and would not be airing it in the coming months as planned.

“In our view, in no way should this film be considered Russian propaganda,” TIFF said Wednesday, following days of silence on the issue.

“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 Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which helped organize a protest against the film in Toronto on Tuesday, said it’s disappointed by TIFF’s stance.

“They have steadfastly ignored any letters from us, from the Ukrainian government, from community leaders,” the organization’s CEO Ihor Michalchyshyn said in an interview. “I think it’s quite shocking that they’re not really listening to the concerns they’re getting.”

In “Russians at War,” Canadian-Russian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova follows soldiers and medics at the front lines of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Throughout the documentary, some of them express doubts about the war and question their roles in it even as they proceed to follow orders and assert their patriotism.

The film has drawn ire from those who say the sympathetic view of the struggling soldiers whitewashes the war crimes by Russia’s military in Ukraine. Ukraine’s consul-general in Toronto, Oleh Nikolenko, said in a social media post that TIFF’s defence of the film is “appalling.”

But Trofimova and two of the film’s producers say the majority of the criticisms are coming from people who haven’t watched the documentary.

“It’s really important for us to see this side of the conflict,” Trofimova said in a video call Wednesday.

She said she had a unique opportunity to spend seven months observing Russian soldiers who are typically only depicted in two ways: as heroes in their homeland and as villains in the West. Trofimova said what she encountered were multifaceted personalities and varying motivations for joining the war that ultimately gave way to “resignation … and sadness.”

Trofimova, who has stated that she believes Russia’s war in Ukraine is unjustified and illegal, said it was not her job to “preach” to the soldiers during filming. The goal was to “listen” and attempt to show how war destroys people, she said, adding that she’s grateful to TIFF for proceeding with the screenings of “Russians at War.”

Michalchyshyn said he has not watched the documentary but has read reviews from people who saw it in Venice last week. He said the fact that Trofimova used to work for Russia Today, a state-controlled media company, puts into doubt her claims that the documentary was made without knowledge or support of the Russian government.

“To put this kind of product out I think is classic Russian disinformation propaganda to make everybody confused about (whether) these soldiers are really our enemies or should we be feeling sympathy for them,” he said.

Trofimova said that her work for RT involved producing documentaries on topics mostly unrelated to Russia – including ISIS and conflicts in the Middle East – and that she left after a “relatively liberal atmosphere” at the broadcaster started to change.

The filmmaker and one of the film’s producers, Sally Blake, said there was “absolutely” no Russian money or influence involved in the making of the doc.

Trofimova gained unfettered access to the soldiers because “they wanted her there … they wanted to tell their story,” said producer Cornelia Principe, who dismissed the “whitewashing” accusations.

“It’s true that we made the choice to let (the soldiers) speak … for it to be an immersive experience,” Blake said. “In that way, it’s powerful and it’s very honest.”

TIFF said that while it “deeply” feels and understands the suffering of Ukrainian people, “as a cultural institution, we stand for the right of artists and cultural workers to express fair political comment freely and oppose censorship.”

In contrast, TVO’s board of directors said Tuesday that it decided to “respect the feedback” it received about “Russians at War” after the broadcaster initially defended the film. Principe, who has worked with TVO for years, said she was shocked by the board’s announcement withdrawing support for the doc.

“It came totally out of left field,” she said.

The Documentary Organization of Canada also said it’s “profoundly alarmed” by the TVO board’s “unilateral decision.”

“TVO’s team has traditionally operated with editorial independence, fostering essential collaboration with independent filmmakers through established journalistic processes of review and discussion,” the organization said in a statement. “The board’s decision undermines these fundamental processes and raises serious concerns about political interference, and must be confronted in order to preserve the integrity of our media institutions.”

TVO did not respond to a request Wednesday for more details about its board’s decision.

“Russians at War,” a Canadian-French co-production, was funded in part by the Canada Media Fund, which provided $340,000 for the project to TVO through its broadcaster envelope program.

Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland denounced the use of public funds for the film while speaking to reporters in Nanaimo, B.C., on Tuesday.

“It’s not right for Canadian public money to be supporting the screening and production of a film like this,” Freeland said, adding that there is “no moral equivalency” in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Principe, however, said that public broadcasters have a responsibility to inform people and support documentaries that tackle difficult topics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.

Sonja Puzic, The Canadian Press