TVO — a public educational media organization and agency of the Ontario Ministry of Education — will no longer support or broadcast the film Russians at War, which whitewashes the Russian occupiers fighting against Ukraine.
This is stated in a TVO statement.
"We listened to the Ukrainian-Canadian community and their thoughtful and sincere contribution. The TVOʼs board of directors has decided to respect the feedback we received and TVO will no longer support or broadcast Russians at War," the media organization wrote.
Also, TVO will check the financing process of this project.
The Canadian Congress of Ukrainians appealed to the media fund The Canada Media Fund for the fact that it financed "Russians at War" with the money of Canadian taxpayers — 340 thousand Canadian dollars (about $250 thousand).
What movie is it about?
The film "Russians at War" was shot by former Russia Today documentarian Anastasia Trofimova. Trofimova shot the tape while in the war zone in Ukraine.
The film shows only brief glimpses of the actual fighting, it does not give an insight into the destruction that Russia is causing in Ukraine.
In particular, the tape features a Ukrainian who fights on the side of Russia and tells that there is a civil war in Ukraine and that Ukraine bombed its own eastern regions. Another character broadcasts a classic Russian narrative about Ukrainian Nazis.
The heroes of the film are "poor ordinary Russians" who fight only for money, do not understand why this war is necessary, cry for the dead and are generally manipulated by politicians.
Previously, the film was shown at the Venice Film Festival, which caused widespread criticism from Ukraine. Now they want to show it at the International Film Festival in Toronto.
Reaction of Ukraine
Consul General of Ukraine in Toronto Oleh Nikolenko said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine opposed the screening of this film at the International Film Festival in Toronto because, according to him, the film deliberately distorts the realities of Russiaʼs war against Ukraine. The consul also added that in the film the responsibility for the actions of the Russians was shifted to the media and propaganda. This infantilizes criminals and frees them from moral and legal responsibility for their actions.
Oleh Nikolenko also emphasized that after weeks of intense communication, the leadership of the Toronto International Film Festival "has not demonstrated readiness to resolve our concerns in a satisfactory manner."