Navigating Objectivity and Criticism in War Documentaries

The inclusion of ‘Russians at War’ in this year’s Toronto International Film Festival has been met with a firestorm of controversy and backlash, including criticism from the Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

The first person documentary follows Russian Canadian filmmaker, Anastasia Trofimova, as she embeds herself with a group of Russian soldiers fighting on the front lines of the war in Ukraine as they grow increasingly disillusioned with the battle.

But after Freeland and other Ukrainian-Canadians spoke out against the film, accusing it of ‘whitewashing’ Russia’s role in the conflict, TVO, one of the films financial backers, announced it would no longer be screening the film. 

Anastasia Trofimova joins us to talk about the making of the film, the criticism it received and why she thought it was important to give a different perspective on the war in Ukraine.