Ukrainians protest “Russians at War” screening in Toronto: initial outcomes

The Ukrainian community in Toronto vehemently protested the screening of “Russians at War,” a film by Russian propagandist Anastasia Trofimova, on September 10. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) reported that participants called on the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to revoke the film’s screening.

Protesters, including activists and diplomats, held signs reading “Stop Russian Propaganda,” “The Film Lies About the War,” and “This Justifies Murderers and Rapists,” Reuters reports.

As a result, Ontario’s publicly funded English-language media organization, TVO, announced that it would “no longer be supporting or airing “Russians at War”.

“We have listened to the Ukrainian-Canadian community and their thoughtful and heartfelt input. TVO will be reviewing the process by which this project was funded and our brand leveraged,” TVO stated in response to the UCC’s appeal.

Meanwhile, despite the protest and calls for action, TIFF organizers have not removed the propagandist film from their program. Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland condemned the film’s screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, according to CBC.

“It’s not right for Canadian public money to be supporting the screening and production of a film like this. … 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. Ukranians are fighting for their sovereignty and for democracy around the world,” Freeland said.

Earlier, the UCC called on the Toronto International Film Festival to cancel screenings of the propagandist film “Russians at War.” The UCC also demands that the Canadian and Ontario governments immediately investigate why taxpayer money was used to fund Russian propaganda.

The “Russians at War” “documentary” received funding from the Canadian Media Fund, a public-private partnership supported by the Canadian Heritage Department, according to the UCC. The film features stories of Russian occupiers and only fragments of real battles. Trofimova argues that she created an “anti-war” film intended to showcase “ordinary people” and counter the notion that all Russian soldiers are criminals.