Zurich Film Festival cancels screenings of ‘Russians at War’ film

The upcoming Zurich Film Festival has canceled public screenings of Russians at War, a documentary by propagandist Anastasia Trofimova who previously worked for RT (formerly Russia Today), the Ukrainian Society of Switzerland said.

Confirmation of the news was subsequently posted on the festival’s website, which stated that four scheduled screenings from October 7 to 12 have been canceled.

“This film is an indicator of how effectively the [Russian] propaganda machine works. It is important for us, as Ukrainians, to open the world’s eyes to such practices,” said Ukrainian World Congress President Paul Grod.

The organizers noted that public screenings would not be held “for security reasons.” However, the film remains in the documentary competition program, which makes it eligible for awards.

Strong public advocacy efforts in Switzerland by a broad coalition of nonprofit groups, individuals and diplomatic outreach, played key roles in getting the film removed from most of the festival’s programming schedule, said Andrej N. Lushnycky, President of the Ukrainian Society of Switzerland, told the UWC.

In particular, rigorous fact-based reporting by the media, and outreach by public intellectuals, political leaders, student organizations, Swiss and Ukrainian civil society organizations and the Ukrainian Embassy helped disseminate information about the film’s true nature.

“We regret that the reasons evoked on the decision were not based on moral grounds but rather on vague, unexplained, ‘security reasons’. In our view, only the reputation of the Zurich Film Festival would have been at risk,” Lushnycky said.

“Russia should not have a presence on the international cultural stage,” Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry stated regarding calls for the film’s removal. “Likewise, there should be no chance for its voices to whitewash war criminals in front of a wide audience.” 

“The only threat to ‘the safety of its viewers, guests, partners, and staff’ is the influence of Russian propaganda that justifies aggression and atrocities,” the same ministry said.

In turn, Lushnycky added that “nonetheless, the movie, with its distorted and false narratives, remains in the competition. This is very disturbing, as the ZFF does not truly understand the reasons [why] they should have disqualified it.”

Earlier, the French public broadcasting channel ARTE also refused to show Russians at War. The scandal surrounding the film, in which director Trofimova defends Russian war criminals, also erupted ahead of the Toronto International Film Festival.

Following numerous protests organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the organizers suspended some screenings of the film, though not entirely.