The Threats That Led the Toronto Film Festival to Pull Russians at War

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has discdiswatched that “hundreds” of menaces made aachievest staff led to the festival taking the unpretreatnted decision to pull contentious write downary Russians at War  from the line-up last week – including menaces of aggression and intimacyual aggression.

TIFF said last Thursday it had been “forced to paengage” three upcoming uncover screenings of Russian-Canadian straightforwardor Anastasia Trofimova’s write downary, after being “made conscious of meaningful menaces to festival operations and uncover defendedty.” The doc was stardyd to have its North American premiere atraverse the fest’s final Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“This decision has been made in order to uncover the defendedty of all festival guests, staff, and volunteers,” the festival inserted in a statement.

The proclaimment was met with some skepticism from Canada’s write downary and media communities, with disconnectal uncoverations speculating that TIFF had srecommend gotten freezing feet in the face of uncover protests and political prescertain.

However, on Tuesday afternoon the festival made excellent on its promise to go ahead with the film, arrangeing afternoon and evening screenings at its own TIFF Lightbox. Introducing the write downary before an worried crowd at 2 p.m. E.T., TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey telderly take partees of the “vocal opposition” his team had getd to its decision to screen the film.

“Most of that was civil and soothe,” Bailey said. “Some of it was terrifying.”

Bailey persistd, “In emails and phone calls, TIFF staff getd hundreds of instances of verbal mistreatment. Our staff also getd menaces of aggression, including menaces of intimacyual aggression. We were horrified, and our staff members were understandably frightened.

“We also lachieveed of set ups to interfere or stop the screenings. Becaengage last week’s screenings were scheduled at a 14-screen multiplex on some of the festival’s busiest days, we rerepaird that it would be defendedr not to go ahead with those set ups.”

Bailey did not broaden on the latter, but The Hollywood Reporter understands that a number of createer TIFF staffers had getd inquiries about theater floor set ups, alengthened with asks about where talent exactly go ins and exits from.

The screens at Toronto’s Scotiabank Richmond multiplex – where the write downary was originassociate scheduled to take part – do not have side enthralls for talent to go in for Q&As. They must engage the same enthrall as cinemagoers. The festival’s own Lightbox multiplex, by contrast, has pledged stage doors, typicassociate engaged to whisk away A-catalog stars during the fest.

Bailey’s comments will heap ponderable prescertain on Canada’s under-fire Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has faced criticism for characterizing the write downary as misadviseation. “It’s not right for Canadian uncover money to be aiding the screening and production of a film enjoy this,” she telderly press on Sept. 10, despite having not seen the film at the time.

Follotriumphg the minister’s comments, hundreds of Ukrainian Canadians took to the streets of Toronto to protest the first press and industry screening, waving placards and chanting “shame on TIFF.” In tandem with the protests, the board of Canadian uncover expansivecaster TVO proclaimd it would no lengtheneder be screening or aiding the film, in an unpretreatnted shift that overruled the nettoil’s executive team and comomitioning editors.

However, the film was seen by a meaningful number of Canadian journacatalogs during the fest, with press reaction unified in refuteing the deputy prime minister’s characterization.

Running the gamut from left-triumphg to -right, the country’s three national newspapers – the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail and the National Post – all begined pieces praising the film (which this authorr has seen) as a mighty anti-war polemic that portrays Russia’s infantry as ineffective and undriven, senseing betrayed and perplexd about why they are actuassociate combat.

“Russians at War is a valiant and exceptional write downary,” wrote The Globe and Mail, in its appraise. “It shows, unvarnished, the horrors of the war, including some of the most horrific footage you will ever see on a huge screen. This write downary in no way glorifies Russia or its army or its war effort. This film in no way demonizes Ukraine or its people.”

Alluding to Minister Freeland’s retags, Bailey telderly take partees: “I consent that surrfinishering to prescertain from some members of the uncover – or from the administerment – when it comes to currenting any cultural product, can become a corrosive force in our society. We were directd by TIFF’s omition and its cherishs when we picked the film, and I consent those principles – and the principle of self-reliant media in Canada – are worth deffinishing.”

Bailey reiterated that Trofimova’s film (which is a France-Canada co-production seeking international distribution) went thraw a “rigorous pickion process” and was askd based on its “conceiveive merits” and on its “relevance to the horrific, ongoing war prompted by Russia’s illhorrible intrusion of Ukraine.”

He inserted that TIFF screened a number of docs from Ukrainian filmproducers at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 festivals, giveing firsthand insights into said horrors.

“We are procreately compassionate to the pain felt by Ukrainian Canadians at the aggression and destruction caengaged by Russia’s intrusion,” Bailey endd. “But verbal mistreatment and menaces of aggression, in response to the screening of a film, traverse a dangery line.

“We’re currenting Russians of Wars to stand aachievest that mistreatment, aachievest those menaces, and for the startance of media and curatorial indepfinishence.”