TIFF suspends ‘Russians At War’ screenings due to ‘significant threats’

The Toronto International Film Festival said Thursday it is suspending upcoming screenings of the controversial documentary Russians At War due to “significant threats to festival operations and public safety.”

The announcement came a day after TIFF stood by the film, which is helmed by a Russian-Canadian director and received Canadian public funding, amid growing backlash from the Ukrainian community and government officials for both Ukraine and Canada.

A large protest was held outside Tuesday’s debut screening and another was planned for Friday.

The protests were organized by Ukrainian-Canadian community leaders who have called the film “Russian propaganda” — a charge denied by the filmmaker and festival organizers — and called for government investigations.

“As a cultural institution, we support civil discourse about and through films, including differences of opinion, and we fully support peaceful assembly,” a statement from the festival said. “However, we have received reports indicating potential activity in the coming days that pose significant risk; given the severity of these concerns, we cannot proceed as planned.

“This is an unprecedented move for TIFF.”

The festival said it will pause screenings scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday but is committed to showing the film “when it is safe to do so,” adding organizers “believe this film has earned a place in our festival’s lineup.”

Global News has reached out to the Toronto Police Service for details on the alleged security threats.

The film’s director, Anastasia Trofimova, spent seven months embedded with a Russian army battalion in eastern Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow’s forces to make the film, which she says was done without the Russian government’s knowledge. She and her financial backers have said the film shows the soldiers losing faith in the fight and seeks to humanize the ordinary men caught up in Russia’s invasion.

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Ukrainian critics, as well as some Canadian MPs including Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, have denounced any attempts to portray the Russians in a sympathetic light and accused the filmmakers of “whitewashing” the Russian army’s crimes in Ukraine.

TVO, Ontario’s public broadcaster, announced Tuesday it was pulling its support for the film amid growing scrutiny over the use of public funding and government grants in its production.

The film’s producers, which includes Canadian Oscar nominee Cornelia Principe, called TIFF’s decision “heartbreaking” in a statement provided by the festival and condemned those who have spoken out publicly against Russians At War, including Freeland, Ukraine’s consul-general for Toronto Oleh Nikolenko and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

“Their irresponsible, dishonest, and inflammatory public statements have incited the violent hate that has led to TIFF’s painful decision,” the producers wrote. “This temporary suppression is shockingly un-Canadian.”

Nikolenko said in a brief statement on Facebook that he welcomed TIFF’s decision but did not address the alleged threats that led to it.

“This project has already done significant damage to the festival’s reputation and given Russia a chance to further undermine democracy,” he wrote.

Trofimova has claimed she is at risk of criminal prosecution in Russia after filming its troops in occupied Ukrainian territory without Moscow’s approval. Ukraine has questioned those claims, citing her past work with the Russian state media company RT, and said she also violated Ukrainian law by entering Ukrainian territory.

More to come…