The Shevchenko Foundation (TSF) adds its voice to the concerns expressed by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Ukrainian community at large about the screening of “Russians at War” by Anastasia Trofimova during the Toronto International Film Festival.
In a letter addressed to TIFF Chair Jeffrey Remedios, TSF President Boris Balan wrote, “As a funder of cultural initiatives, we are sensitive to the power of storytelling in building community and fostering cross-cultural understanding. We celebrate the very specific genre of documentary film as a medium which, by definition, documents reality and contributes to maintaining a historical record.
“Unfortunately, “Russians at War” fails miserably in representing facts and the true face of the genocidal war being waged against Ukraine by neighbouring Russia. It depicts an aggressor and its players as being morally equivalent to the civilian victims who have suffered rape, torture, and murder at the hands of Russian soldiers. Promoting such blatant disinformation defies our common values as Canadians.”
Boris Balan also noted in his letter the hurtful effect of this decision on the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who have been forced to flee their war-torn country. They have taken refuge in Canada in the belief that Canada is a protector of fundamental human rights and dignity. Screening a film which clearly spews Russian propaganda shatters this image.
Over the past two years, TSF has proudly supported initiatives of the Toronto International Film Festival and the Canadian International Documentary Festival Hot Docs. As a funder, it has urged TIFF to cancel the screening of this film in the interest of accuracy and truth.