The Toronto International Film Festival plans to screen controversial documentary "Russians at War" today.
Scene from the documentary film "Russians at War," is shown in a handout. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-TIFF **MANDATORY CREDIT**
TORONTO – The Toronto International Film Festival is screening the controversial “Russians at War” documentary under “exceptional” circumstances, the festival’s CEO said Tuesday as he shared more details about the threats that delayed the film’s North American premiere.
TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey told the audience at the film’s first screening on Tuesday that while most of the opposition to the documentary has been civil and peaceful, festival staff received “terrifying” threats that ranged from emails and phone calls to verbal abuse.
“Our staff also received threats of violence, including threats of sexual violence,” Bailey said in his onstage remarks before the film was shown at the TIFF Lightbox.
“We were horrified and our staff members were understandably frightened.”
Bailey said organizers decided it would be safer to move the film’s original screenings at a multiplex to a “more secure” environment.
The film, which captures the experiences of Russian soldiers on the front lines of the war in Ukraine, has sparked considerable backlash from Ukrainian officials and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, who called it “Russian propaganda.”
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, meanwhile, has condemned the use of public funds to finance and screen the documentary, which received $340,000 from the Canada Media Fund and was produced in partnership with Ontario’s public broadcaster, TVO.
Last week, TVO’s board of directors retracted its support for the film and cancelled plans to broadcast it on the network.
Demonstrators who gathered outside the TIFF Lightbox Tuesday afternoon said they were outraged by the festival’s decision to proceed with the screenings, even though many of them said they have no plans to see the documentary. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress has also said that it hasn’t seen the film.
Russian-Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova has told The Canadian Press that her documentary was filmed without the Russian government’s permission, which put her at risk of criminal prosecution.
She has denied the propaganda claims and defended her previous documentary work for Russia’s state-owned broadcaster RT, adding that she believes the invasion of Ukraine is unjustified and illegal.
Bailey said Tuesday that “Russians at War” went through a “rigorous” selection process for this year’s TIFF lineup and was chosen on its “artistic merits and on its relevance to the horrific ongoing war prompted by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
The film shows the disillusionment of some Russian soldiers who question the purpose of the attacks on Ukraine and their own roles in the war.
“I believe that surrendering to pressure from some members of the public or from a government when it comes to presenting any cultural product can become a corrosive force in our society,” Bailey said.
Ivanka Tymchuk, who sits on the board of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, told reporters outside the screening that use of public funds for this film is “not OK” and that protesters don’t want to see “Russians at War” screened at any other film festivals in the country.
Tymchuk said the protests held outside TIFF events since last week have all been orderly and peaceful.
During the Tuesday afternoon screening, one person stood up in the theatre and started shouting about people who have died in the war, but they were escorted out by security.
Another screening of “Russians at War” is scheduled later in the evening.
-with files by Sonja Puzic.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
