Russians at War

Russians at War
Directed by	Anastasia Trofimova
Written by	Roland Schlimme
Produced by	Cornelia Principe Sally Blake Philippe Levasseur
Cinematography	Anastasia Trofimova
Edited by	Roland Schlimme
Music by	Amin Bouhafa
Release date	5 September 2024 (2024-09-05) (Venice)
Countries	Canada France
Language	Russian

Russians at War is a 2024 Canadian and French documentary film, directed by cinematographer Anastasia Trofimova. The film focuses on the perspective of Russian soldiers invading Ukraine during the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war.

The documentary had its world premiere for the film industry on September 4, 2024, and for the public on September 5, 2024 at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. The North American premiere for the film industry was on September 10, 2024 at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was criticized as Russian propaganda, while the Toronto festival organizers defended the film as being "anti-war". Although public screenings were cancelled, with organizers blaming "significant threats", Toronto police were reported to be "not aware of any active threats".

Synopsis

Shot in a fly-on-the-wall cinéma vérité style, Russians at War follows documentarian Anastasia Trofimova as she spends months following Russian soldiers from their homes to the frontlines of occupied Ukraine, with many of her subjects revealing feelings of confusion and disillusionment with their government.

Trofimova embedded herself with the Russian battalion, as it makes its way across eastern Ukraine, getting a rare glimpse of an often ramshackle army in a regular state of disarray.

Trofimova takes the audience from 180 km behind the front lines where ranks are "replenished" to the trenches of the front line where the men die. The soldiers depicted are often volunteers who say they went to the front for various personal reasons: vague patriotism, avenging fallen friends, protecting loved ones, preventing their children from going to war in the future, or, more commonly, for money.

Budget

According to the New York Post that cited The Kyiv Independent, the film's entire budget was rather modest at $250,000.

Critical response

Deadline Hollywood's Melanie Goodfellow described the film depicting "botched military sorties; hiding, petrified in dug outs; shrapnel-shredded dead comrades being slung into trucks in body bags, and commanders in shell shock as they relive the day’s horrors. Any initial patriotic fervor dissipates, with the handful of subjects who survive to the end of the film questioning why they are there and expressing their lack of desire to fight, but suggesting they have no choice but to follow orders."

Zinaida Pronchenko summed it up: "Regardless of the motives and conditions of filming, this is unique material, the very ‘trench truth’ that is usually not visible behind the ‘fog of war’." Pronchenko described the feelings from the film as fear and despair. The film contradicts itself and is presenting the view from the Russian side only.

DW noted that the film is controversial. The producers say the film is anti-war. Critics criticize it for sympathizing the invading soldiers and for not informing the viewer on the Russian war crimes. On the other side, "Trofimova's film is considered one of the few documentary video evidence from the Russian side of the front."

Ukrainian producer Darya Bassel criticized the decision of the Venice Film Festival to screen Russians at War because the film "presents a very distorted picture of reality" and that Trofimova's documentary is "spreading false narratives". Bassel pointed out that the film pictures as Russian invasion started in 2022, while Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014; Trofimova claims that Russia wasn't at war for many years, while Russia participated in wars in Chechnya, Syria, Transnistria, Abkhazia and Georgia; people shown in film repeat Russian propaganda narratives about "Ukrainians are nazis" and "civil war in Ukraine".

Controversy

The film sparked backlash from some regional experts, Canadian politicians and the Ukrainian-Canadian community, who characterized it as "Russian propaganda". Trofimova admitted to entering Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories without Ukraine's permission while making the film, while embedded with Russian soldiers invading the country. Historian Ian Garner noted that Trofimova's claim that she did not have official permission to film the soldiers "hardly stands up to scrutiny in a country where independent journalism simply does not exist" and that Trofimova absolved the soldiers of moral responsibility for war crimes such as rape, looting, and murder by presenting them as "blind kittens", and "helpless to intervene". Garner termed this an "alarming reiteration of the 'just following orders' narratives" that surrounded the Holocaust. Russian director Vitaly Mansky said that "it is quite obvious that the author is on the side of their heroes" and called the film's screening in Venice "a mistake by the festival." Mansky himself attempted to send a cameraman to film on the Russian side during the invasion, but his cameraman was promptly arrested.

Trofimova has been accused of whitewashing Russian war crimes. Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Chrystia Freeland, denounced the film, saying, "it's not right for Canadian public money to be supporting the screening and production of a film like this." Ukraine's consul-general in Toronto, Oleh Nikolenko, urged the Toronto International Film Festival to not screen the documentary and criticized the Canadian government for helping to fund the documentary. Ukrainian MP Yevheniia Kravchuk stated that the film is a "striking example of how Russia, thanks to its soft power, is trying to promote its narratives about a ‘more comprehensive understanding of the war’. And unfortunately, they are doing this quite successfully."

Following protests from the Ukranian community, one of the film's funders, TVO, withdrew support from the film, adding that "TVO will be reviewing the process by which this project was funded and our brand leveraged." In response, the Documentary Organization of Canada issued a statement in which it is "profoundly alarmed by TVOntario’s Board of Directors’ recent unilateral decision to withdraw support for the documentary “Russians at War,” adding that it "raises serious concerns about political interference, and must be confronted in order to preserve the integrity of our media institutions."

Response from film festivals and professional organizations

The Artistic Director of the Venice Film Festival Alberto Barbera defended the film, noting that the film is "very far from being an act of propaganda" and that "it is an anti-war film, with a very sensible and touching human approach, as well as great artistic craftsmanship."

The Toronto International Film Festival also denied the request of Ukrainian-Canadian community to exclude the film from the program. On September 10, 2024, the Ukranian community held a protest outside Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, where TIFF was holding the film's press screening. Following the protest, one of the film's funders, TVO, withdrew support from the film, adding that "TVO will be reviewing the process by which this project was funded and our brand leveraged." In response to the TVO withdrawal from the film, the Documentary Organization of Canada issued a statement in which it is "profoundly alarmed by TVOntario's Board of Directors' recent unilateral decision to withdraw support for the documentary "Russians at War," adding that it "raises serious concerns about political interference, and must be confronted in order to preserve the integrity of our media institutions."

TIFF defended its decision to include Russians at War in its program in a statement released on September 11, noting that "in no way should this film be considered Russian propaganda" and that "as a cultural institution, we stand for the right of artists and cultural workers to express fair political comment freely and oppose censorship. Because filmmakers, like all artists, work in dynamic engagement with their societies, we believe that our role as curators and presenters of the film must stand for an unequivocal defence of artistic expression and a commitment to provide safe, open spaces to engage, critique and reflect on artists' work."

However, on September 12, TIFF announced it was pausing the North American public premiere for the film citing "significant threats to festival operations and public safety". The pause resulted in the cancellation of three public screenings planned from September 13-15. TIFF noted that it was still committed to screening the film "when it is safe to do so". Toronto police were reported to be "not aware of any active threats", with a spokesperson saying the decision to cancel the screening "was not based on any recommendation from Toronto Police". On September 15, TIFF announced that their first public showing of the film will be on September 17.

The film will be shown at the Windsor International Film Festival which will run from October 24 to November 3, 2024. Executive director Vincent Georgie stated that "the film is there to create discussion and debates" and added that there will be additional security measures during the showings of the film, in response to the TIFF threats.

External links

• Russians at War at IMDb