Zurich Film Festival drops screening of ‘Russians at War’ documentary
Zurich Film Festival will not be showing the Russians at War documentary.Keystone-SDA
The organisers of the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) have decided not to show the controversial documentary Russians at War by Russian-Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova due to “safety considerations”, it was announced on Thursday.
“The safety of our audience, guests, partners and employees is the top priority for the ZFF,” the film festival said in a statement on Thursday.
The film, which has already been shown at other international festivals, will remain in the ZFF documentary film competition.
On Thursday last week, ZFF director Christian Jungen had insisted on showing the documentary despite accusations that it trivialises Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
The film, for which Trofimova accompanied a Russian military unit in the war against Ukraine for several months, has triggered strong reactions, particularly among Ukrainians. Screenings at the Toronto Film Festival had to be cancelled due to threats.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has since been responsible for a several war crimes committed by its army.
