TV Ontario ceases support and broadcast of Russians at War film due to Ukrainians’ protests

The public financial organization and broadcaster in Ontario, Canada, declined to air Russian director Anastasiia Trofimova's Russians at War film. This decision was made after the Canadian Congress of Ukrainians protested the film, funded by the Canadian government and channeled through TVO.

This is reported on the TVO website.

On September 6, the Canadian Congress of Ukrainians appealed to The Canada Media Fund, the entity that provided financing for Anastasiia Trofimova's film Russians at War. The Canadian organization granted a budget of 340,000 Canadian dollars (approximately 10.3 million UAH) for the film's production.

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) stated that this expenditure is at odds with the Canadian government's statements, which expressed worries about the impact of Russian propaganda. They also emphasized that Canada is making a mistake by funding and releasing the film.

Trofimova's other films were aired on Russia Today, a channel known for promoting Russian propaganda and currently subject to Canadian sanctions. The director, who illegally crossed the state border of Ukraine during filming, shifts the blame for Russian soldiers' war crimes onto "propaganda" and the "fog of war."

Despite this, it was included in the Toronto International Film Festival's (TIFF) screening program. The Canadian Congress of Ukrainians appealed to TIFF to withdraw this film.

Following UCC's appeal, TVO, the government-funded broadcaster in the province of Ontario, which provided financing for the film Russians at War, considered the concerns of the Ukrainian-Canadian community and opted not to air the film.

"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 received, and TVO will no longer support or broadcast Russians at War. TVO will review the funding process for this project and the use of our brand," Chris Day, chairman of TVO's board of directors, said.

In turn, Trofimova told The Hollywood Reporter that in her first-person film, she talks to "ordinary Russian soldiers" during seven months in Ukraine and tries to "get a perspective that no one else, not even official Russian television or Western journalists, not recorded."

Protests from the Ukrainian community accompanied screenings at TIFF.

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On September 8, Ambassador of Ukraine to Italy Yaroslav Melnyk condemned the screening of Russian director Anastasiia Trofimova's Russians at War film at the Venice Film Festival and called on its organizers to prevent Russian propaganda.

The Ukrainian ambassador notes that Kyiv was "shocked by the decision of the jury of the film festival" in Venice to select the Russians at War film for screening, which it considers "inappropriate and offensive to the Ukrainian people."

"Russians at War is a film of sympathy for the aggressor with a parallel devaluation of the aggressor's victims, despite the thousands of Ukrainian lives lost and millions maimed by the Russians," the diplomat emphasized.

Melnyk noted that the tape "is a shameful example of Orwellian manipulation of the truth," recalling that it ignores active hostilities in Ukraine since 2014, and its showing is incredibly inappropriate given the tragedies in Poltava, Lviv, and Odesa when Russian strikes killed dozens of residents.

"We are strongly against the attempt to use TIFF to whitewash the crimes of Russian soldiers in Ukraine. The film intentionally misrepresents the realities, presenting Russian soldiers as "foot soldiers" and Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "foul game,"  Ukraine's MFA spokesperson Nikolenko said.

He also emphasized that the director of the film, Anastasiia Trofimova, a former presenter of Russia Today, illegally entered the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine for filming, violating Ukrainian legislation.

The Consul General called on TIFF to cancel the screening of the film, saying that "it is unacceptable to allow one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world to be used to spread Russian propaganda."

In addition, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine [Ukraine's parliament – ed.] wrote a letter to the Parliament of Canada to prevent its screening at the Toronto Film Festival.

The Ukrainian film industry faced backlash for screening a propaganda film in Venice. Director Olha Zhurba, whose documentary "Songs of the Slowly Burning Land" also premiered at the festival, and Ukrainian producer and programmer of the Docudays UA International Documentary Film Festival Darya Bassel spoke out against it. Bassel described "Russians at War" as a prime example of Russian propaganda.

Furthermore, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to the film, denouncing Trofimova's work.

It is worth mentioning that on September 5, the documentary Russians at War by Russian-Canadian director Anastasiia Trofimova, who previously worked for Russia Today, premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Trofimova presented the film as an anti-war narrative focusing on the experiences of Russian soldiers.