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'''''Russians at War''''' is a 2024 Canadian and Ontario government-funded [[Documentary film|documentary]] [[Documentary film|film]], which has been widely described as Russian war propaganda, directed by cinematographer Anastasia Trofimova.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-film-venice-canada-yermak-trofimova/33110069.html | title=Film Shown at Venice Festival Blasted as 'Russian Propaganda' | newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty }}</ref> Trofimova's past affiliations include the [[CBC Television|CBC]] and [[RT Documentary]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/tiff/article-canadian-russian-director-responds-to-tiff-documentary-backlash-says/|title=Russian-Canadian director responds to TIFF documentary backlash, says journalists 'follow the story where it goes'|newspaper=The Globe and Mail}}</ref> The film focuses on the perspective of Russian soldiers invading Ukraine during the [[Russo-Ukrainian War|ongoing 2014 Russian-Ukrainian war]]. It premiered at the [[81st Venice International Film Festival]]. It sparked backlash from regional experts, as well as Canadian politicians, the [[Ukrainian-Canadian]] community, the [[Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], [[Embassy of Ukraine in Canada]], and Ukrainian and international filmmakers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/venice-songs-of-slow-burning-earth-olha-zhurba-russians-at-war-anastasia-trofimova-1236125030/|title=Venice Documentaries Attempt to Reckon With Russia's 'Historical, Transformative, Apocalyptic' War in Ukraine|publisher=Variety}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/09/director-russians-at-war-bats-back-suggestions-whitewashing-1236078633/|title=Director Of 'Russians At War' Doc Bats Back Suggestions Of Whitewashing: "We Have To Humanize Everyone. This Is A Huge Tragedy For Our Region" – Venice|publisher=Deadline}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/russian-soldiers-given-their-chance-speak-venice-2024-09-05/|title=Russian soldiers given their chance to speak at Venice|publisher=Returns}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/09/06/sympathetic-view-of-russian-soldiers-creates-controversy-at-venice-film-festival|title=Sympathetic view of Russian soldiers creates controversy at Venice Film Festival|publisher=euronews}}</ref>
'''''Russians at War''''' is a 2024 [[Cinema of Canada|Canadian]] and [[Cinema of France|French]]-produced [[Documentary film|documentary]] [[Documentary film|film]], directed by [[Anastasia Trofimova]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-film-venice-canada-yermak-trofimova/33110069.html | title=Film Shown at Venice Festival Blasted as 'Russian Propaganda' | newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty }}</ref> The film focuses on the perspective of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine during the [[Russo-Ukrainian War|ongoing 2014 Russian-Ukrainian war]]. It premiered at the [[81st Venice International Film Festival]].
Trofimova admitted to entering Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories without Ukraine's permission while making the film, while embedded with Russian soldiers invading the country. She has been accused of whitewashing their [[War crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|war crimes]]. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://kyivindependent.com/ahead-of-toronto-festival-premier-filmmaker-defends-documentary-on-russian-soldiers-says-journalists-follow-the-story-where-it-goes/ | title=Ahead of Toronto festival premiere, filmmaker defends documentary on Russian soldiers, says journalists 'follow the story where it goes' }}</ref>


==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==

Trofimova embedded herself with a 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/russian-soldiers-given-their-chance-speak-venice-2024-09-05/|title=Russian soldiers given their chance to speak at Venice|publisher=Reuters}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/09/06/russians-at-war-documentary-about-russian-troops-in-ukraine-criticized-at-venice-film-fest-a86289|title=‘Russians at War’: Documentary About Russian Troops in Ukraine Criticized at Venice Film Fest|publisher=The Moscow Times}}</ref>
Trofimova embedded herself with a 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/russian-soldiers-given-their-chance-speak-venice-2024-09-05/|title=Russian soldiers given their chance to speak at Venice|publisher=Reuters}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/09/06/russians-at-war-documentary-about-russian-troops-in-ukraine-criticized-at-venice-film-fest-a86289|title=‘Russians at War’: Documentary About Russian Troops in Ukraine Criticized at Venice Film Fest|publisher=The Moscow Times}}</ref>


==Critical Response==
==Critical Response==
Anita Lee, the [[Toronto International Film Festival]]'s Chief Programming Officer wrote that "Trofimova assembles a spellbinding tale of sacrifice and disillusionment in which soldiers resemble pawns in a nefarious game. ''Russians at War'' reminds us of the human cost on both sides. As Trofimova so eloquently puts it, ''the fog of war is so thick that you can’t see the human stories it’s made of.''"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tiff.net/events/russians-at-war|title=Russians at War |publisher=Toronto International Film Festival}}</ref>


[[Deadline Hollywood]] Senior International Film Correspondent Melanie Goodfellow notes 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/09/director-controversial-doc-russians-at-war-interview-1236083365/|title=Director Of Controversial Doc ‘Russians At War’ Explains How & Why She Captured Reality Of Russian Soldiers In Ukraine – Venice & Toronto|publisher=Deadline}}</ref>
⚫
Deputy Prime Minister [[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."<ref>https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/freeland-tiff-russian-soldiers-1.7318887</ref>


The film has sparked backlash in the [[Ukrainian-Canadian]] community prior to the film premiering in Canada, with the [[Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] and [[Embassy of Ukraine in Canada]] requesting that the screening of the film in Toronto be cancelled.<ref>https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/tiff/article-ukrainian-officials-call-for-documentary-on-russian-soldiers-to-be/</ref> Trofimova has been accused of whitewashing Russian [[War crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|war crimes]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://kyivindependent.com/ahead-of-toronto-festival-premier-filmmaker-defends-documentary-on-russian-soldiers-says-journalists-follow-the-story-where-it-goes/ | title=Ahead of Toronto festival premiere, filmmaker defends documentary on Russian soldiers, says journalists 'follow the story where it goes' }}</ref> followed by a statement by Trofimova saying "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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7318887|title=Freeland states 'grave concerns' over TIFF film about Russian soldiers|publisher=CBC}}</ref>
⚫
Ukrainian producer [[Darya Bassel]], whose film Songs of Slow Burning Earth, another documentary on the Russo-Ukrainian war at the film festival which depicts the suffering of Ukraine over the course of the war, criticised the decision to screen the Russian film, saying that it "presents a very distorted picture of reality" and that Trofimova's documentary is "spreading false narratives".<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/sep/07/documentary-russians-at-war-accused-of-false-picture-soldiers-invading-ukraine</ref>


⚫
Ukrainian producer [[Darya Bassel]] criticised the Venice Film Festival's decision to screen the Russian film, noting several times during her press conference that she "hasn't seen the film", but that it "presents a very distorted picture of reality" and that Trofimova's documentary is "spreading false narratives".<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/sep/07/documentary-russians-at-war-accused-of-false-picture-soldiers-invading-ukraine</ref>
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.<ref>https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/09/10/in-seeking-to-humanize-russian-soldiers-russians-at-war-glosses-over-their-atrocities-a86320</ref>


Ukrainian officials called for the film to be removed from the film festival and to prevent the film from being screened.<ref>https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/tiff/article-ukrainian-officials-call-for-documentary-on-russian-soldiers-to-be/</ref><ref>https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-official-urges-toronto-film-fest-to-cancel-documentary-on-russian-soldiers/</ref><ref>https://unn.ua/en/news/mps-call-on-colleagues-from-canada-to-prevent-the-screening-of-the-film-russians-at-war-at-the-film-festival</ref><ref>https://unn.ua/en/news/ukraine-calls-for-cancellation-of-russian-propaganda-film-at-toronto-film-festival</ref> 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."<ref>https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/09/9/7474188/</ref>
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."<ref>https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/09/9/7474188/</ref>

⚫
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister [[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."<ref>https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/freeland-tiff-russian-soldiers-1.7318887</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Film controversies in Canada]]
[[Category:2024 films]]
[[Category:2024 films]]
[[Category:Russian documentary films]]
[[Category:French documentary films]]
[[Category:Canadian documentary films]]
[[Category:Canadian documentary films]]
[[Category:2024 documentary films]]
[[Category:2024 documentary films]]
[[Category:Film censorship in Ukraine]]

{{2020s-Canada-documentary-film-stub}}

Revision as of 12:31, 11 September 2024

Russians at War
Directed byAnastasia Trofimova
Written byRoland Schlimme
Produced byCornelia Principe
Sally Blake
Philippe Levasseur
CinematographyAnastasia Trofimova
Edited byRoland Schlimme
Music byAmin Bouhafa
Release date
5 September 2024
CountryCanada/France
LanguageRussian

Russians at War is a 2024 Canadian and French-produced documentary film, directed by Anastasia Trofimova.[1] The film focuses on the perspective of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine during the ongoing 2014 Russian-Ukrainian war. It premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.

Synopsis

Trofimova embedded herself with a 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.[2] 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.[3]

Critical Response

Anita Lee, the Toronto International Film Festival's Chief Programming Officer wrote that "Trofimova assembles a spellbinding tale of sacrifice and disillusionment in which soldiers resemble pawns in a nefarious game. Russians at War reminds us of the human cost on both sides. As Trofimova so eloquently puts it, the fog of war is so thick that you can’t see the human stories it’s made of."[4]

Deadline Hollywood Senior International Film Correspondent Melanie Goodfellow notes 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."[5]

The film has sparked backlash in the Ukrainian-Canadian community prior to the film premiering in Canada, with the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy of Ukraine in Canada requesting that the screening of the film in Toronto be cancelled.[6] Trofimova has been accused of whitewashing Russian war crimes,[7] followed by a statement by Trofimova saying "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."[8]

Ukrainian producer Darya Bassel criticised the Venice Film Festival's decision to screen the Russian film, noting several times during her press conference that she "hasn't seen the film", but that it "presents a very distorted picture of reality" and that Trofimova's documentary is "spreading false narratives".[9]

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."[10]

Canada's Deputy Prime Minister 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."[11]

References

  1. ^ "Film Shown at Venice Festival Blasted as 'Russian Propaganda'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  2. ^ "Russian soldiers given their chance to speak at Venice". Reuters.
  3. ^ "'Russians at War': Documentary About Russian Troops in Ukraine Criticized at Venice Film Fest". The Moscow Times.
  4. ^ "Russians at War". Toronto International Film Festival.
  5. ^ "Director Of Controversial Doc 'Russians At War' Explains How & Why She Captured Reality Of Russian Soldiers In Ukraine – Venice & Toronto". Deadline.
  6. ^ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/tiff/article-ukrainian-officials-call-for-documentary-on-russian-soldiers-to-be/
  7. ^ "Ahead of Toronto festival premiere, filmmaker defends documentary on Russian soldiers, says journalists 'follow the story where it goes'".
  8. ^ "Freeland states 'grave concerns' over TIFF film about Russian soldiers". CBC.
  9. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/sep/07/documentary-russians-at-war-accused-of-false-picture-soldiers-invading-ukraine
  10. ^ https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/09/9/7474188/
  11. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/freeland-tiff-russian-soldiers-1.7318887
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