Protest planned against 'Russians at War' documentary screenings in Australia
Members of the Ukrainian diaspora in Australia are set to protest the screening of the controversial “Russians at War” documentary at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 6.
Canadian-Russian director Anastasia Trofimova’s documentary Russians at War has faced criticism for what many perceive as an attempt to whitewash Russian soldiers involved in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The documentary has been criticized for lacking a concrete counter-narrative to Russian propaganda, failing to address documented Russian war crimes, and does not offer a definitive critique of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Earlier in her career, Trofimova worked for Russia Today (RT), a Kremlin-backed propaganda outlet.
The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations' (AFUO) planned rally comes as controversy continues to follow the film, after initially appearing on the official list of screenings at the prestigious Venice and Toronto film festivals.
Following protest across different cities since the film first raised controversy in September 2024, organizers at various international film festivals have pulled the film from various festivals' schedule.
Despite the anticipated protest, the Antenna Film Festival, which is scheduled to begin screening the film on Feb. 10, has not removed its scheduled screening from the festival’s lineup.
“The Ukrainian community has come together with strength and focus to stop this russian propaganda being screened in Australia,” the AFUO said in a statement. “This film is not an independent exposé — it is a carefully controlled narrative that serves the interests of the Russian state."
In the most prominent case, the Toronto International Film Festival decided to pull the film from the schedule, citing security concerns, but later decided to hold a special screening for the film after the end of the festival in September, drawing widespread criticism.
Controversy further spread as it was revealed the Russians at War film received 340,000 Canadian dollars from the Canada Media Fund.
On Oct. 7, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) began investigating Trofimova on the charges of justifying and recognizing the legitimacy of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and illegally crossing Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders when filming in the Russian-occupied territories.
The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan