The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has revealed that “hundreds” of threats made against staff led to the festival taking the unprecedented decision to pull controversial documentary Russians at War from the line-up last week – including threats of violence and sexual assault.
TIFF said last Thursday it had been “forced to pause” three upcoming public screenings of Russian-Canadian director Anastasia Trofimova’s documentary, after being “made aware of significant threats to festival operations and public safety.” The doc was slated to have its North American premiere across the fest’s final Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“This decision has been made in order to ensure the safety of all festival guests, staff, and volunteers,” the festival added in a statement.
The announcement was met with some skepticism from Canada’s documentary and media communities, with several publications speculating that TIFF had simply gotten cold feet in the face of public protests and political pressure.
However, on Tuesday afternoon the festival made good on its promise to go ahead with the film, hosting afternoon and evening screenings at its own TIFF Lightbox. Introducing the documentary before an anxious crowd at 2 p.m. E.T., TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey told attendees of the “vocal opposition” his team had received to its decision to screen the film.
“Most of that was civil and peaceful,” Bailey said. “Some of it was terrifying.”
Bailey continued, “In emails and phone calls, TIFF staff received hundreds of instances of verbal abuse. Our staff also received threats of violence, including threats of sexual violence. We were horrified, and our staff members were understandably frightened.
“We also learned of plans to disrupt or stop the screenings. Because last week’s screenings were scheduled at a 14-screen multiplex on some of the festival’s busiest days, we determined that it would be safer not to go ahead with those plans.”
Bailey did not expand on the latter, but The Hollywood Reporter understands that a number of former TIFF staffers had received inquiries about theater floor plans, along with questions about where talent exactly enters and exits from.
The screens at Toronto’s Scotiabank Richmond multiplex – where the documentary was originally scheduled to play – do not have side entrances for talent to enter for Q&As. They must use the same entrance as cinemagoers. The festival’s own Lightbox multiplex, by contrast, has dedicated stage doors, typically used to whisk away A-list stars during the fest.
Bailey’s comments will heap considerable pressure on Canada’s under-fire Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has faced criticism for characterizing the documentary as propaganda. “It’s not right for Canadian public money to be supporting the screening and production of a film like this,” she told press on Sept. 10, despite having not seen the film at the time.
Following 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 public broadcaster TVO announced it would no longer be screening or supporting the film, in an unprecedented move that overruled the network’s executive team and commissioning editors.
However, the film was seen by a significant number of Canadian journalists during the fest, with press reaction unanimous in rejecting the deputy prime minister’s characterization.
Running the gamut from left-wing to -right, the country’s three national newspapers – the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail and the National Post – all published pieces praising the film (which this writer has seen) as a powerful anti-war polemic that portrays Russia’s infantry as inept and unmotivated, feeling betrayed and confused about why they are actually fighting.
“Russians at War is a brave and exceptional documentary,” wrote The Globe and Mail, in its review. “It shows, unvarnished, the horrors of the war, including some of the most horrific footage you will ever see on a big screen. This documentary 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 remarks, Bailey told attendees: “I believe that surrendering to pressure from some members of the public – or from the government – when it comes to presenting any cultural product, can become a corrosive force in our society. We were guided by TIFF’s mission and its values when we selected the film, and I believe those principles – and the principle of independent media in Canada – are worth defending.”
Bailey reiterated that Trofimova’s film (which is a France-Canada co-production seeking international distribution) went through a “rigorous selection process” and was invited based on its “artistic merits” and on its “relevance to the horrific, ongoing war prompted by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
He added that TIFF screened a number of docs from Ukrainian filmmakers at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 festivals, offering firsthand insights into said horrors.
“We are deeply sympathetic to the pain felt by Ukrainian Canadians at the violence and destruction caused by Russia’s invasion,” Bailey concluded. “But verbal abuse and threats of violence, in response to the screening of a film, cross a dangerous line.
“We’re presenting Russians of Wars to stand against that abuse, against those threats, and for the importance of media and curatorial independence.”