UUkraine

Russian propaganda film “Russians at War” whitewashes war crimes, funded by Canadian taxpayers: Discussion

  • September 8, 2024



Anastasia Trofimova, who previously produced "documentaries" for Russia Today (also known as RT – the russian state propaganda arm whose staff were indicted for clandestine manipulation of western social media earlier this week), has debuted her new film Russians at War.

Filmed in occupied Ukraine during russia's illegal invasion, it depicts a Kremlin-approved perspective on the russian army's activities and gives a platform to the same ahistorical lies that seek to legitimize russia's genocide of Ukrainians.

In producing the film, Anastasia Trofimova spent months in Ukraine while living with the russian army, which she (laughably) claims was not sponsored by the russian state. Even the existence of the film itself, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival, has the effect of legitimizing the filmmaker's own long list of crimes in violation of Ukrainian law.

This reputation laundering propaganda was co-produced by Canadian taxpayers: $340,000 of the film's budget was provided by Canadian public funding.

Trofimova's statements during the press coverage of the film:

"They start to fight because they lost someone. And it's maybe a question of revenge."

"I didn’t go there with prejudgement. Of course, I had all these stereotypes in my head that I got from reading Russian and Western media. But I didn’t judge."

A soldier in the film openly denies the accusations that russian troops are committing war crimes. Trofimova says that she "did not see any such crimes."

"I think in Western media, that's what Russian soldiers are associated with at this point, because there were no other stories. This is another story. This is my attempt to see through the fog of war and to see people for people."

Coverage:

A screening is scheduled for Tuesday, 9/10 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

by duellingislands

25 comments

  1. >The documentary trailer reveals that the film echoes several stereotypes propagated by Russian state-controlled media in an attempt to legitimize its genocidal war against Ukraine, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions.

    >“*Russia and Ukraine have always been inseparable. I miss the brotherly union*,” one soldier says to the camera, reinforcing the false narrative that Ukraine cannot exist as an independent state.

    How is the civilized world okay with this? After all this time, after everything that has happened and is still happening, these genocidal pieces of shit are still given safe harbor no matter where they go

  2. Canadian tax payers are not okay with the funding of this. We are very sorry for our government’s poor decision making.

  3. This is one of the unfortunate side effects of a free society, you get people like this that take advantage of it.

  4. Why is Canada funding, thereby endorsing, this garbage? Demand the funds be returned immediately and she can get putin to reimburse her for this horseshit!

  5. Government officials who approved this funding should be fired. Canadian government should root out all the pro-Russian, genocide sympathizers.

  7. Glad that they advertise themselves as propagandists promoting and attempting to cover up war crimes. More names for The Hague when russia collapses.

  9. Time to use this film for good and weed out everyone in Canada that supported this film being made, then investigate their personal finances.

  11. Imagine a white mirror reverse of this in a Russian Film festival? A pro Ukrainian view documentary? All involved in it who were in Russia would be tracked down arrested and long term jailed…if not disappeared.

    And here we allow this. How? It’s like a giving their side of the story “Nazi’s Cry Too” documentary debuting in America while Nazi Germany is rampaging through Europe.

    Despicable, disgraceful, disgusting.

    Slava Ukraini.

  12. TVO assisted in funding this documentary and is going to air it.

    TVO also submitted a request to feature an interview with a Canadian fighting in Ukraine. I’m waiting to hear back from TVO but he will most likely no longer be willing to participate after their decision to support the whitewashing of the war criminals he is fighting against.

  13. I would love to track her movements in this film and see how many times she had to close her eyes in order to not bear witness to any war crimes.

  15. I’m Canadian – with Ukraine since 2014 when Russia started their new overt war of conquest and terror… And in absolutely no way okay with my taxes being used to fund propaganda of an enemy state!

  16. This is an OUTRAGE!! Anyone who green lighted the funding of this garbage should get fired! This Canadian stands with Ukraine!

  19. I emailed TIFF asking how they can justify this decision and dared them to reply. I’m not expecting much.

    Let’s hope a bunch of people with Ukrainian flags show up at the screening.

    Tuesday, September 10
    Scotiabank Theatre
    259 Richmond St. W.
    Toronto
    Press & Industry
    2:30 PM

  20. Does the man who rapes and kills your daughter in front of you cry too? Because I don’t care.

  23. This is the result of some film fest programmers trying to be edgy, and look at “both sides.”
    I’m not entirely opposed to screening this sort of thing, in the name of media awareness. But the “film” needs to be presented with a big fat disclaimer making clear that the fact this footage was allowed to leave Russia is an implicit stamp of approval from their ministry of propaganda.

  24. You guys should watch it and criticize its content, but you shouldn’t criticize its existence. If not, you are just spitting your own propaganda and not prioritizing the truth.

  25. As a Canadian, I’d like to offer my own apologies for my government funding this. I am fucking livid that this was funded by my tax money and have been se ding an ungodly amount of angry emails and phone calls.

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