Russians at War documentary at TIFF sparks backlash over Canadian funding [Video]

Ukrainian diplomats and advocates in Canada are calling on the Toronto International Film Festival to cancel screenings of a documentary depicting Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine that they say amounts to “Russian propaganda.”

The film, Russians At War, is having its North American premiere at TIFF on Tuesday after showing out of competition at the Venice Film Festival this month. It was helmed by a Russian-Canadian director and was funded by Canadian public broadcasters — in part through government grants — and an Oscar-nominated Canadian producer.

The director, Anastasia Trofimova, spent seven months embedded with a Russian army battalion in eastern Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow’s forces to make the film, which she says was done without the Russian government’s knowledge. She and her financial backers have said the film shows the soldiers losing faith in the fight and seeks to humanize the ordinary men caught up in Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian critics argue that amounts …