Keystone-SDA
This content was published on September 27, 2024 – 01:08
(Keystone-SDA) The Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is not showing the controversial documentary “Russians at War” by the Russian-Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova after all. The ZFF announced this on Thursday evening. The safety of the audience comes first.
However, Trofimova’s film will remain in the ZFF documentary film competition, the announcement on the online platform X continued.
As recently as Thursday last week, ZFF director Christian Jungs still insisted on showing the film, even though there were allegations that it trivialized Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
The film, for which Trofimova accompanied a Russian military unit in the war against Ukraine for several months, triggered strong reactions, especially among Ukrainians. Screenings at the Toronto Film Festival had to be canceled due to threats.
After all, it was Russian President Vladimir Putin who launched a military attack on Ukraine in February 2022 and has since been responsible for a number of war crimes committed by his army.