TIFF suspends screening of Russians at War propaganda film

The festival released an official statement.

“TIFF is forced to pause the upcoming screenings of Russians at War on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as we have been made aware of significant threats to festival operations and public safety. While we stand firm on our statement shared yesterday, this decision has been made in order to ensure the safety of all festival guests, staff, and volunteers,” the statement reads.

The festival organizers added that this is an unprecedented step for TIFF. They emphasized that they support civil discourse about and through films, including differences of opinion, and we fully support peaceful assembly. However, they added in the statement, they have received reports “indicating potential activity in the coming days that pose significant risk.” 

“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,” the organizers added.

Meanwhile, a Toronto police spokesperson told Global News that it was the decision of the TIFF organizers to suspend the screenings and that it was “not based on any recommendations from the Toronto Police,” who were not aware of any active threats.

“We were aware of the potential for protests and had planned to have officers present to ensure public safety,” the spokesman said.

The film's producers released a statement saying that TIFF's decision is “heartbreaking for us as filmmakers and Canadian citizens.” 

“Our priority as producers, through this production, has been the safety and security of our courageous director, Anastasia Trofimova, despite her steadfast acceptance of these risks to make her documentary. We had assumed those risks would originate within Russia, not Canada,” the statement reads.

The producers added that "This is not a win for Canadians, including Ukrainian Canadians. We condemn Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Ukraine Ambassador to Canada Yuliya Kovaliv, Consul General of Ukraine in Toronto Oleh Nikolenko, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Senators Donna Dasko and Stanley Kutcher, MP Yvan Baker (Etobicoke Centre), MPP Christine Hogarth (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) and other political and community 'leaders.' Their irresponsible, dishonest, and inflammatory public statements have incited the violent hate that has led to TIFF’s painful decision to pause its presentation of Russians at War." 

They called on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to investigate “affront, from within a sovereign government, to our democratic values and a free media.”

What is known about the Russians at War film

The Venice Film Festival's non-competition lineup screened the documentary Russians at War by Anastasia Trofimova, who aims to portray Russian soldiers not as "beasts," but as "ordinary people."

This film was also announced in the program of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Ukraine's Consul General in Toronto, Oleh Nikolenko, and Ukraine's Ambassador to Canada, Yulia Kovaliv, strongly criticized TIFF for its intention to screen the propaganda film.

Subsequently, a petition was launched calling for the cancellation of the screening of the propaganda film Russians at War at the Toronto Film Festival.

On September 12, TIFF refused to cancel the screening of the Russian propaganda film Russians at War. Representatives of the festival noted that since this film is a Canadian-French co-production and was funded by Canadian agencies, it cannot be considered Russian propaganda.

Anastasia Trofimova describes herself as a Russian-Canadian filmmaker. She is also a former employee of Russia Today channel. At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Trofimova worked as a news producer for the Canadian broadcaster CBC and was in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, with a CBC Moscow correspondent and a cameraman. 

Trofimova filmed material for the film, in particular, in the temporarily occupied Luhansk region, where she traveled from Moscow without Ukraine's permission. For seven months, she filmed a Russian battalion, being at the front alongside the military who invaded Ukraine. The filmmaker claimed that she got there thanks to a Russian soldier named Ilya, allegedly from Luhansk, who agreed to take her to his battalion in Luhansk without military permission.