The authors of the film "Russians at War", using the financial support of the French National Cinema Center CNC, planned to show the film on the ARTE TV channel — they were refused.
This was reported by the press service of the Embassy of Ukraine in France.
The Ukrainian embassy appealed to CNC and ARTE with a request to explain the situation, as well as an appeal to refuse the screening of the film and any cooperation with the creators of the tape.
The president of the ARTE channel Bruno Patino said that he and his team were closely following the incidents surrounding the film, so the Russians were denied a screening. Currently, there are no arrangements to show the film on the channel. The French National Film Center also "distanced itself" from the tape, writes the Ukrainian embassy.
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 and the TIFF Film Festival in Toronto, which caused widespread criticism from Ukraine. Moreover, the festival in Toronto initially canceled the screening of the film due to "significant threats to the work of the festival and public safety", but later showed it on another day.
Now the film is planned to be shown at the film festival in Zurich (Switzerland). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine condemned the idea of showing the film "Russians at War" at any cultural venues.
- Meanwhile, the Canadian public broadcaster TVO decided not to broadcast the tape "Russians at War", having listened to the Ukrainian-Canadian community.
- The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications included former employee of the propaganda channel Russia Today and Russian-Canadian director Anastasia Trofimova, who directed the film "Russians at War", to the list of persons who pose a threat to the national security of Ukraine.