People protest the documentary Russians at War playing at the Toronto International Film Festival, in Toronto, on Sept. 10.Paige Taylor White/The Canadian Press
Update: On Sept. 12, TIFF announced it was cancelling screenings of Russians at War, citing security concerns. Read more here.
Ontario public broadcaster TVO, which helped fund the documentary Russians at War, says the organization will no longer support or air the film after days of growing outcry over its presence at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Russian-Canadian documentary filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova spent months embedded with Russian soldiers in occupied Ukraine to produce the film, which is scheduled to be shown for the first time in North America at TIFF this week, after its debut at the Venice Film Festival.
In a letter to TIFF last week, Ukraine’s consul-general in Toronto, Oleh Nikolenko, called for Russians at War’s screenings to be cancelled, saying that the documentary’s focus on the experiences of Russia’s troops whitewashes Russian war crimes. And Ms. Trofimova has come under intense scrutiny over comments she has made about the film. Critics have also pointed to her past work making documentaries for RT, a Russian state-controlled media organization.
Chris Day, the chair of TVO’s board of directors, said in a statement on Tuesday that the board had decided to distance TVO from the project. “We have listened to the Ukrainian-Canadian community and their thoughtful and heartfelt input,” he said.
He added that the board will review the process through which the film was funded, and the way TVO’s brand was leveraged.
TIFF did not respond to a request for comment from The Globe and Mail. The film was still listed on the festival’s program as of Tuesday evening.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has Ukrainian roots, told reporters in Nanaimo, B.C., on Tuesday that Ukrainian diplomats and the Ukrainian Canadian community have expressed “grave concerns” about the film. She said she shares those concerns.
“We have to be really clear that this is a war where there is no moral equivalency. This is a war of Russian aggression. This is a war where Russia is breaking international law and committing war crimes. There is very clearly good and evil in this war. Ukrainians are fighting for their sovereignty and for democracy around the world,” she said.
“It’s not right for Canadian public money to be supporting the screening and production of a film like this.”
Ms. Trofimova told reporters in Venice that she saw no evidence of war crimes during her time with the Russian unit. She also told reporters that in Russia, soldiers are heroes who never die, while in the West they are war criminals.
She described the Russian soldiers as ordinary guys with families and a sense of humour.
Ms. Trofimova later issued a statement defending her documentary, saying it is an anti-war film made at risk to all involved, especially herself.
The Canada-France film production received financial support from TVO and one other Canadian public broadcaster, British Columbia’s Knowledge Network. It also received private contributions.
TVO provided $340,000 from funding it accessed though the Canada Media Fund, a not-for-profit organization that receives its funding from the federal government and telecommunications companies.
Earlier in the week, the broadcaster defended Russians at War. In a statement on Monday, TVO Media Education Group said it stood by a previous statement it had issued in support of the film.
Monday’s statement said TVO could confirm that Ms. Trofimova received no Russian government accreditation or authorization for the documentary. The broadcaster did not respond to repeated questions from The Globe about how it had come to know this. Ms. Trofimova herself has made similar claims in interviews, including one with The Globe.
“Earlier in her career Ms. Trofimova worked at RT Documentary (RTD), a sister channel to the RT news channel that many Canadians are familiar with,” the statement said. “She left there four years ago when she became concerned that the more liberal atmosphere at RTD had started to change. She subsequently joined CBC Radio Canada and has not been associated with RTD since.”
In his letter, Mr. Nikolenko, the Ukrainian consul-general, questioned how Ms. Trofimova could have gained access to occupied parts of eastern Ukraine without the Russian government knowing. The letter said she had violated Ukrainian legislation by being there.
Glenna Pollon, the director of government relations and communications for Knowledge Network, said it had contributed $15,000. She added that the broadcaster stands by its decision to support the documentary.
Ihor Michalchyshyn, the executive director and chief executive of the non-profit Ukrainian Canadian Congress, said it is “incredibly disappointing” that the groups that decided to support the film are standing by it.
“The fact that many of them are doubling down is, I think, quite problematic and illustrates that Russian disinformation permeates quite deeply,” he said.
Mr. Michalchyshyn said he is surprised TVO supported the project. He added that the filmmaker’s statements about working alongside a Russian military unit without Russian government authorization are “increasingly unbelievable.”
He said federal and provincial governments need to ensure granting bodies screen for Russian disinformation. “We feel anybody with her CV and biography should have immediately been flagged as problematic, and the fact that TVO is now trying to nuance her work with RTD is, I think, quite bizarre.”
Protesters, some holding Ukrainian flags, gathered Tuesday afternoon outside Toronto’s Scotiabank Theatre, where the film had a screening for press and industry ahead of its first public TIFF showing on Friday. Mr. Michalchyshyn, speaking before the protest, said many Ukrainian refugees would be in attendance, and would talk about the reality of the war in Ukraine. “Thousands of civilians killed and tortured and raped,” he said. “And that’s the story that TIFF and others need to be telling.”
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund also contributed $15,000 to the film, according to Juan M. Gonzalez-Calcaneo, a senior media relations manager for Hot Docs, a not-for-profit organization that promotes documentaries.
Steven Woodhead, a spokesperson for the Rogers Group of Funds, said a different fund, the Rogers Documentary Fund, had also provided a small grant. The Rogers Telefund, he said, had provided a small loan.
He said the documentary fund, regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, is a separately incorporated not-for-profit with an independent board that operates under the CRTC’s framework for certified independent production funds.