The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is standing by its decision to screen a controversial documentary about Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, despite criticism from Ukrainian officials and community groups who say it amounts to propaganda. TIFF's statement comes after Ontario's public broadcaster TVO pulled its support for the film, 'Russians at War,' citing concerns.
The Toronto International Film Festival says it's not pulling a controversial documentary about Russia n soldiers fighting in Ukraine from its schedule despite outcry from Ukrainian officials and community groups who say the film amounts to propaganda.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which helped organize a protest against the film in Toronto on Tuesday, said it's disappointed by TIFF's stance. But Trofimova and two of the film's producers say the majority of the criticisms are coming from people who haven't watched the documentary. Michalchyshyn said he has not watched the documentary but has read reviews from people who saw it in Venice last week. He said the fact that Trofimova used to work for Russia Today, a state-controlled media company, puts into doubt her claims that the documentary was made without knowledge or support of the Russian government.
Trofimova gained unfettered access to the soldiers because "they wanted her there ... they wanted to tell their story," said producer Cornelia Principe, who dismissed the "whitewashing" accusations.
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