INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The controversial documentary "Russians at War" will be shown in Toronto on Tuesday, after the city's film festival organizers initially
decided to halt screenings due to "significant threats" over their decision to feature the film
"Russians at War," directed by Anastasia Trofimova, was first presented at the 81st Venice Film Festival
that seeks to whitewash and justify Moscow's full-scale invasion.The Toronto International Film Festival, which ended on Sunday, announced
screenings at the TIFF Lightbox cultural center in Toronto, the festival said.Yulia Kovaliv, Ukraine's ambassador to Canada, condemned the
festival for reinstating the screenings, saying its "persistence to serve as a platform to share Russian propaganda is beyond
imaginable."Canadian public broadcaster TVO, which helped fund the documentary, pulled its support for the film and said it would not be
Likewise, Ukraine's state film agency had appealed to TIFF to drop the film, which it said was "a dangerous tool for public opinion
manipulation."Trofimova has rejected criticisms of her documentary, telling AFP that it was "an anti-war film" showing "ordinary guys" who
were fighting on the side of Russia.Throughout the film, soldiers appear to have little idea of why they have been sent to the front line
and are shown struggling to make Soviet-era weapons serviceable
Others chain-smoke cigarettes and down shots of alcohol amid the deaths and wounds of their comrades.
