Berliner Tageblatt - Kyiv 'outraged' at Swiss showing of Russian war film

The documentary has sparked outrage since it was first shown at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month, with some calling it a pro-Kremlin film that seeks to whitewash and justify Moscow's assault on its neighbour.

Ukraine added Russian-Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova, who directed the documentary, to a national security blacklist on Monday, saying it spread "Russian propaganda" about Moscow's invasion.

The documentary was listed on the programme for the Swiss festival, which was sent out to media on Thursday, as a film portraying "Russian frontline soldiers in Ukraine (dealing) with the fragility of democracy".

The ZFF acknowledged Thursday that the film had already "made waves", and said it had received "protest letters".

"We can understand that the film evokes strong emotions in Ukrainians, but we will maintain its projection, because we consider that 'Russians at War' is an anti-war film," it said in a newsletter.

Like the 2022 German film "All Quiet on the Western Front", which won four Oscars for its depiction of the horrors of World War I, ZFF said the documentary "shows how young soldiers mostly are reduced to pulp".

ZFF director Christian Jungen told reporters Thursday that it was understandable that "Ukrainians are unhappy".

But he insisted that "films should incite discussion", adding that he considered the documentary an "anti-war film", according to the Keyston-ATS news agency.

- 'Propaganda' -

A spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry warned the ZFF organisers Thursday that they risked ruining the festival's reputation by going ahead with the screening.

"This is a propaganda film that whitewashes war crimes, not a documentary," Georgiy Tykhyi said on X, formerly Twitter.

"Real Russians at war are invaders, war criminals, and rapists. Covering them up makes you complicit."

Before those comments, the Ukrainian foreign ministry had already said on X on Wednesday that it was "outraged" by the ZFF decision.

According to Trofimova's website, she has previously made documentaries in Syria, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo that have been broadcast on Russia's state-run RT television, which has been hit by sanctions from the European Union and the United States.

Jungen acknowledged that the director was "not unproblematic", stressing that the "Russians at War" documentary would be discussed at a roundtable event during the festival.

A number of stars are set to attend the ZFF, which runs from October 3 to 13, including Kate Winslet, Richard Gere and Jude Law.

F.Pavlenko--BTB