2024-09-11 | Outrage has erupted over a film created by Russian Director
and propagandist Anastasia Trofimova, called ‘Russians at War’. Calls
for its screening to be pulled from the Toronto International Film
Festival have intensified; surely festival organizers should have
reacted when the film was showcased at the Venice International Film
Festival, despite the public uproar it caused.
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Breaking news, as this episode was being recorded, the Canadian
broadcaster TVO made a statement that it had withdrawn support from the
documentary "Russians at War" following protests from the Ukrainian
community, and in fact far more widely than that.
But this controversy pales beside news that the film was part-financed
by the Canadian government to the tune of $312,000 US dollars. This
despite the fact Canada is an ally of Ukraine in its existential fight
against the Russian army. A rabble army of murderers, looters and
rapists that the Canadian-Russian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova seeks to
absolve and whitewash of their documented war crimes. This is the
accusation, but does it stand up to scrutiny? This video examines the
controversy and the film itself to understand if the propaganda motive
outweighs any artistic merits.
If a malign actor, or an openly aggressive revanchist state like Russia,
invests money in an information project, with the aim of manipulating
the media space and public discourse, to alter both perceptions and
policies in that country to favour its own strategic interests, then
that is paid for speech, not free speech. And if the parties creating
and disseminating those media products don’t declare their financial
interests, that is disclosure in transparent fashion of who is funding
the project, so we can better understand their motives and objectives,
then really, this is not free speech, but an informational weapon, an
assault on public discourse.
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Sources and recommended reading:
https://kyivindependent.com/opinion-russian-soldiers-in-ukraine-are-ordinary-guys-who-commit-horrific-war-crimes/
https://kyivindependent.com/outrage-erupts-over-canadian-tax-dollars-funding-russians-at-war-documentary/
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TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:
Save Ukraine
https://www.saveukraineua.org/
Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas
https://superhumans.com/en/
UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in
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https://unbroken.org.ua/
Come Back Alive
https://savelife.in.ua/en/
Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen
https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine
UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy
https://u24.gov.ua/
Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation
https://prytulafoundation.org
NGO “Herojam Slava”
https://heroiamslava.org/
kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and
Przemyśl
https://kharpp.com/
NOR DOG Animal Rescue
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