Windsor Star, a Canadian media outlet, reported on October 26 that Ukrainian-Canadian film-makers pulled their pro Ukrainian film “Intercepted”, after learning it would be screened at the Windsor International Film Festival alongside the controversial documentary “Russians at War”.
The documentary Russians at War by Canadian-Russian Anastasia Trofimova has been criticized for what many see as an attempt to whitewash Russian troops involved in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Trofimova was a Kremlin propaganda outlet, Russia Today, earlier in her career.
The documentary has been criticized because it lacks a concrete counternarrative to Russian propagandists, fails to address Russian war crimes that are documented, and doesn’t offer a definitive criticism of Putin’s government.
The movie gained attention when it was included on the official lists of screenings for the prestigious Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival.
The Windsor Star reports that Intercepted, a film which chronicles the work done by Ukrainian intelligence agencies in intercepting calls made by Russian soldiers to their family and friends, was pulled from the Canadian WIFF before its opening night screening.
The decision to withdraw comes amid widespread protests among Canada’s large Ukrainian diaspora.
After protests, organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival pulled the film from their schedule citing security concerns. However, they later decided to hold an extra screening for the movie after the festival ended in September, attracting widespread criticism.
The controversy grew when it was revealed that the film Russians at War received $340,000 from Canada Media Fund. Canadian government officials, such as Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freiland, have strongly condemned the use of public money to support a controversial film that portrays Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.
Despite protests from local Ukrainian-Canadians, WIFF did not remove Russians at War. This is in contrast to decisions made earlier this week at film festivals In Athens and Zurich that the film would be dropped.
Windsor Star was unable to reach Oksana Karapovych, the director of Intercepted for comment.
On October 7, the Security Service of Ukraine began an investigation into Trofimova. She was accused of recognizing and justifying Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine, and of illegally crossing Ukraine’s internationally recognized border when filming on the Russian-occupied territory.
According to the Windsor Star ‘Intercepted,’ a film that chronicles how Ukrainian intelligence agencies intercept calls from Russian soldiers made to their family and friends, was pulled out of WIFF (Canadian) before its opening night screening.
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