The screening of the propaganda movie Russians at War has been canceled in Canada. But there is a nuance

This year's Toronto International Film Festival has been scandalized by the screening of Russians at War, a film by Russian director Anastasia Trofimova about Russian occupiers as "ordinary people in unusual circumstances." After mass protests and an official appeal from the Ukrainian government, the Canadian public broadcaster TVO canceled the broadcast of the propaganda film, but there is one big caveat: it will still be shown at the festival.

The relevant statement was published on the TVO website. However, the broadcaster's decision applies only to the screening on television, as the Canadian government allocated 340,000 Canadian dollars for the filming of Russians at War.

"We have listened to the Ukrainian Canadian community and their thoughtful and sincere input. TVO's Board of Directors has decided to respect the feedback we have received, and TVO will no longer support or broadcast the film Russians at War. TVO will review how we fund this project and how we use our brand," said Chris Day, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TVO.

The premiere of Trofimova's propaganda film for journalists took place on Tuesday, September 10, and the general screening was scheduled for Friday, September 13. The broadcaster's statement suggests that the broadcast was supposed to be canceled that day. However, looking at the festival's poster, one can see that Russians at War has not been removed from the scheduled screenings - it will still be available to the general public at the festival. Moreover, it will be broadcast over three days: from Friday to Sunday.

The Canadian public broadcaster has decided to cancel the broadcast of the controversial film on television after massive public protests outside the Scotiabank theater in Toronto, where a closed-door screening for journalists was taking place. Yesterday, Ukrainians took to the streets with posters reading "Russians are murderers and rapists" and "Help TIFF find Russian propaganda."

Before that, the Ukrainian government asked to cancel the screening. "This film presents a very distorted picture of reality, spreading false narratives. It is similar to the way Nazi propaganda films were shown in theaters of the coalition countries during World War II," the letter read.

The distribution of the film, which aims to "whiten" the reputation of the occupiers and destroy "stereotypical impressions" of them, also caused outrage among representatives of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. In particular, the director Anastasia Trofimova probably did not have permission to visit the territories of Ukraine that are currently under occupation by the enemy army.

"If this is true, she has illegally crossed the internationally recognized Ukrainian-Russian border, violated Ukrainian law and possibly violated Canadian sanctions," the Ukrainian Canadian Congress noted.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that the film "Russians at War" has already been shown at the Venice Film Festival in Italy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine condemned the premiere of the pro-Russian film and noted that its demonstration is offensive to the victims of the war unleashed by Russia on Ukrainian soil.

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