TIFF suspends screening of film on Russian soldiers after threats

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced it will pause all upcoming screenings of the film Russians at War. 

Russians at War, a first-person documentary by Russian Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova, spurred protest from Ukrainian officials and community groups who say the film amounts to propaganda. The feature was set to have its North American premiere at the Scotiabank Theatre at 2:30 p.m Friday. Additional screenings scheduled for Saturday and Sunday will be paused. 

Organizers cited “significant threats to festival operations and public safety” as the reason for the cancellation but also stated they “support civil discourse about and through films, including differences of opinion.”

“This is an unprecedented move for TIFF,” read a statement from festival organizers.

“This has been an incredibly difficult decision. When we select films, we’re guided by TIFF’s mission, our values, and our programming principles. We believe this film has earned a place in our festival’s lineup, and we are committed to screening it when it is safe to do so.”

What’s the film about?

In Russians at War, Trofimova follows soldiers and medics on the front lines of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the United Nations estimates has killed more than 11,700 civilians and injured another 24,600 since February 2022.

Throughout the documentary, some of those profiled express doubts about the war and question their roles in it even as they proceed to follow orders and assert their patriotism. The film depicts scenes of Russian soldiers being killed.

“As Russia’s unjust war on Ukraine rages on, it is critical to understand the long history of colonization that has led to this current moment,” reads the official description of the movie on TIFF’s website. 

It goes on to say that Russians at War “takes us beyond the headlines to join Russian soldiers as they place themselves in a battle for reasons that become only more obscure with each gruelling day, each confusing command, each gut-wrenching casualty.”

The joint Canadian-French production received $340,000 in funding provided through TVO, the Canadian Media Fund confirmed in a statement. On Tuesday, TVO later announced it was no longer supporting the film and would not be airing it in the coming months as planned. 

In a statement to CBC, the Toronto Police Service said the decision to pause screenings was made independently by event organizers, and not based on any recommendation from Toronto Police. 

Protest outside media screening

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. Trofimova has defended her work by saying the film is “antiwar” and that she took great risk in filming without permission from the Russian government.

Large crowds gathered outside a Tuesday screening for media and industry members to take part in a protest organized by Ukrainian community groups and attended by officials, including Ukrainian Consul General Oleh Nikolenko. Demonstrators handed out pamphlets that criticized the film’s attempts to ” ‘humanize’ the military of the aggressor country.” 

TIFF staff did not allow those attending the screening to carry those pamphlets inside, though during the screening at least one woman handed them out to audience members inside the theatre. Midway through the film, a man forced his way inside, shouting “You’re watching a f–king propaganda film” before he was escorted out by security.

In a Monday letter to TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, Nikolenko described TIFF’s decision to include the film as “irresponsible. “

In a social media post on Thursday, he said TIFF’s move to cease screenings of Russians at War “by a former Russia Today documentary filmmaker is the only right decision.”

Sean Farnel, the film’s consulting producer, posted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying TIFF’s decision was “heartbreaking,” and calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “fully investigate this affront, from within a sovereign government, to our democratic values in a free media.”

“Our priority as producers, through its production, has been the safety and security of our courageous director, Anastasia Trofimova, despite her steadfast acceptance of these risks to make her documentary,” he said.

“We had assumed those risks would originate within Russia, not Canada.”