A scandal erupted in Canada over a propaganda film that "whitewashes" the reputation of the occupiers: what is known

After the premiere of the Russian documentary "Russians at War" at the 81st Venice Film Festival, for which the Canadian government allocated $340,000, director Anastasia Trofimova plans to show the film in Toronto. The distribution of the film, which aims to "whitewash" the reputation of the occupiers and destroy "stereotypical impressions" of them, caused outrage among representatives of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

The members of the association called on the organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to cancel the screening of the propaganda film, The Kyiv Independent reports. The film is imbued with the idea of Ukraine's "inseparability" from the territory of the Russian Federation.

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress has issued an official letter condemning the distribution of the documentary. According to diplomats, 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 the case, she illegally crossed the internationally recognized Ukrainian-Russian border, violated Ukrainian law and possibly violated Canadian sanctions," the organization said.

They added that any attempt to call the film "anti-war" is a disgusting distortion of the real actions of Russian soldiers who have been killing and torturing Ukrainians for 10 years.

"We are deeply disappointed by TIFF's decision to show a Russian propaganda film in this year's program. With TIFF's mission to 'transform the way people see the world through film', we see this as an attempt to whitewash the war crimes committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine," said Yulia Kovaliv, Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada.

For their part, representatives of the domestic film industry did not ignore the scandal with the propaganda film. Film producer Darya Bassel emphasized on her social media that such projects are used by the enemy as a weapon.

"The director, like Putin and his regime, is playing an interesting game with these people. They deny Russians the simple ability to have dignity, to think and decide for themselves. For them, these people are simply powerless objects. As I write this and as you read it, missiles are hitting Ukrainian cities. Ordinary Russians are pushing the buttons. Are their crimes any less significant just because they claim not to know why they are involved in this war?" she wrote.

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