TIFF will play film on Russian soldiers after pausing screenings
CBC
The documentary Russians at War will play at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Lightbox on Tuesday, after the festival suspended showings earlier this week due to security concerns.
The first-person documentary by Russian Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova spurred protests from Ukrainian officials and community groups who say the film amounts to propaganda.
In a programming alert Sunday evening, the festival said tickets are now available for Tuesday screenings.
The documentary is playing at 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., according to TIFF's website.
On Thursday, TIFF announced it was pausing screenings of Russians at War over "significant threats to festival operations and public safety."
The feature was set to have its North American premiere at the Scotiabank Theatre at 2:30 p.m ET Friday. Additional screenings scheduled for this weekend were also paused.
"This is an unprecedented move for TIFF," the festival said in a statement Thursday.
The Toronto Police Service said the decision was made independently by event organizers, and was not based on any recommendation from them.
TIFF's decision to pause screenings was a reversal from a statement the festival put out earlier last week which said the film was "in no way" Russian propaganda and that screenings would go ahead as planned.
Large crowds gathered outside a Tuesday screening for media and industry members to take part in a protest organized by Ukrainian community groups and attended by officials, including Ukrainian Consul General Oleh Nikolenko.
Demonstrators handed out pamphlets that criticized the film's attempts to "'humanize' the military of the aggressor country."
TIFF staff did not allow attendees to carry those pamphlets inside, though during the screening at least one woman handed them out to audience members in the theatre. Midway through the film, a man forced his way inside, shouting "You're watching a f--king propaganda film" before he was escorted out by security.
In a Monday letter to TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, Nikolenko described TIFF's inclusion of the film as "irresponsible."
In a social media post on Thursday, he said TIFF's about-face was "the only right decision."
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