The Toronto International Film Festival made the “unprecedented” move to halt forthcoming screenings of “Russians at War,” a controversial documentary charting the war in Ukraine from the perspective of Russian soldiers.
The festival cited “significant threats to festival operations and public safety” in its Thursday announcement.
“Effectively immediately, TIFF is forced to pause the upcoming screenings of ‘Russians at War’ on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as we have been made aware of significant threats to festival operations and public safety,” the festival said. “While we stand firm on our statement shared yesterday, this decision has been made in order to ensure the safety of all festival guests, staff and volunteers.”
In a previous statement made Wednesday, the festival stood by its decision to host the North American premiere of “Russians at War,” a Canadian documentary, in light of ongoing protests surrounding its release. Those who oppose the doc believe it is a cinematic tool of Russian propaganda showing a sympathetic perspective to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We understand and deeply feel the suffering of the Ukrainian people as the result of an illegal Russian invasion,” the statement read. “As we engage with the art made at this politically charged time, we are guided by the democratic values of freedom of conscience, opinion, expression and peaceful assembly as protected in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for all Canadians including Canadian artists.”
Russian-Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova also responded to the unrest, writing in a statement this week that “Russians at War” is an “antiwar film.”
“I want to be clear that this Canada-France co-production is an antiwar film made at great risk to all involved, myself especially,” she said. “I unequivocally believe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is unjustified, illegal and acknowledge the validity of the International Criminal Court investigation of war crimes in Ukraine.”
Read TIFF’s full memo from Thursday, below:
Effectively immediately, TIFF is forced to pause the upcoming screenings of Russians at War on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as we have been made aware of significant threats to festival operations and public safety. While we stand firm on our statement shared yesterday, this decision has been made in order to ensure the safety of all festival guests, staff, and volunteers.
This is an unprecedented move for TIFF.
As a cultural institution, we support civil discourse about and through films, including differences of opinion, and we fully support peaceful assembly. However, we have received reports indicating potential activity in the coming days that pose significant risk; given the severity of these concerns, we cannot proceed as planned.
This has been an incredibly difficult decision. When we select films, we’re guided by TIFF’s Mission, our Values, and our programming principles. We believe this film has earned a place in our Festival’s lineup, and we are committed to screening it when it is safe to do so.
