French broadcaster rejects Russian propagandist’s war documentary

French public broadcaster ARTE has declined to screen the Russians at War documentary by Russian propagandist Anastasia Trofimova from Russia Today, according to the Embassy of Ukraine in France.

“A few days ago, the Embassy received information that the authors of the controversial film ‘Russians at War’ received financial support from the French National Center of Cinema (CNC) and plan to air this film in the coming months on ARTE. The embassy has taken diplomatic measures in response,” the statement said.

Ambassador Vadym Omelchenko sent letters to the leadership of CNC and ARTE, in which he detailed how this film deliberately distorts the realities of the brutal war against Ukraine and serves as a tool of Russian propaganda and hybrid aggression.

“This is an attempt to justify the occupation of Ukraine and whitewash the war crimes of the Russian army,” the Ukrainian embassy said. “We also reminded them that the film’s director had worked for several years at the notorious sanctioned Russian channel Russia Today, and has been listed by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine as a person posing a threat to national security.”

The embassy requested explanations from CNC and ARTE, urging them to refrain from any cooperation with the film’s authors and to distance themselves from this project.

“In his response letter, ARTE President Bruno Patino stated that he and his team have been closely following the controversy surrounding the controversial film and emphasized that the channel is in no way associated with this version of it. The project was proposed to the editorial team but was rejected. There are no specific agreements regarding the screening of the film on ARTE. Similarly, CNC has distanced itself from the Russians at War project,” the embassy explained.

The film portrays the stories of Russian soldiers and only fragments of real battles. Trofimova insists that she created an “anti-war” film and wanted to depict “ordinary people.” The production was meant to counter the notion that all Russian soldiers are criminals, according to the director.

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) conducted a campaign against the screening of the film in Canada. The community succeeded in suspending screenings, but on September 17, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) ignored the calls.

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) urged TIFF to take a principled stance, acknowledge its mistake, and recognize its complicity in spreading Russian propaganda through the film, which has become yet another tool for the Kremlin in justifying its brutal, unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.