Open letter
reading time: 6min

Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) includes the film “Russians at War” (2024, dir. A. Trofimova) to the film program in October 2024. The decision to screen this film is not only problematic but potentially dangerous. While it is presented as an “anti-war story from the other side”, it is, in reality, a Trojan horse of Russian propaganda.

This war is not solely militaristic; the war covers also many other dimensions, including an intense informational war. By providing a platform for a film that propagates distorted narratives, ZFF inadvertently risks supporting russian aggression and undermining the very values of peace and truth that anti-war films should stand for.

In this open letter, we aim to explain the issues surrounding the film, outline our demands, and offer constructive solutions for ZFF to reconsider its position.

Key issues:

1. Not addressed director’s propaganda background. On the ZFF website the description of the film “Russians at War” misses a lot of important information: the filmmaker A. Trofimova previously made 11 films for Russia Today (RT)  - the Russian state propaganda outlet. Trofimova worked with RT (2014-2020) when Russia was already waging war against Ukraine, had occupied Crimea and was committing egregious and systematic violations of human rights. 
2. Violation of Ukrainian Sovereignty. In making Russians at War, Trofimova entered sovereign Ukrainian territory alongside Russian forces, violating Ukraine's laws and sovereignty.
3. Lie. ZFF claims that A. Trofimova “filmed unauthorized footage in a battalion near the Ukrainian border.” This is contradicted by statements made by the director. In the film “...Trofimova’s voiceover explains that without a press accreditation or permission from the Russian Defense Ministry, she’s wholly underprepared to undertake this journey” https://kyivindependent.com/is-russians-at-war-propaganda-we-asked-7-people-in-film-who-saw-it/
   (we highly recommend to read this article)
4. Disinformation and lie. Anastasia Trofimova spent 7 months embedded with a unit of Russian soldiers while the Russian regime routinely and systemically arrests and imprisons journalists who try to show the truth about Russia. We are supposed to believe that Trofimova, however, taped her movie (for 7 months, crossing the blockposts for 4 times) without any problems whatsoever from the Russian Authorities while the production of this movie is funded by Canadian and French governments. 
   Not every person survived crossing the russian blockposts. The team of the film “20 Days in Mariupol” was hiding SD-cards with footage in a tampon while crossing the blockpost. The next day the Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius was killed on such a blockpost trying to get out of the occupied territory. 
5. Disinformation and lie. The filmmaker A. Trofimova has stated that she did not see the Russian army commit war crimes, thereby suggesting in her film that the Russian army has not committed war crimes - the very important narrative of this film and the russian propaganda.
   The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has registered over 137.000 cases of war crimes and aggression committed by the Russian soldiers. 
6. Uncritical propaganda narratives. This film includes other unchallenged claims - staples of RT and other Russian propaganda outlets - that Ukraine has attacked its own people, that the Russian army is incapable of war crimes, that russia`s 2014 invasion of Ukraine was a “civil war” and that Ukrainian civilians welcome russian occupation. 
7. Propaganda. The SRF Journalist Christine Hamel made a brilliant conclusion in her article: “Propaganda, die auf die Subversion der Empathie zielt” (Propaganda aimed at the subversion of empathy). We strongly recommend to read the article:
   https://www.srf.ch/kultur/film-serien/propaganda-vorwuerfe-zff-haelt-am-umstrittenen-film-russians-at-war-fest-zu-recht
8. Pro-war narratives. This film is not an anti-war film. This film supports the war by following the narratives of Russian Federation, it plays for the interests of aggressor and makes this war lasting. Our priority number one is that russian soldiers go home - this is anti-war idea. To stop the war russian artists don`t need to portrait russian soldiers on Ukrainian land at world film festivals. They need to raise questions in Russian society. 
   Not only Trofimova is not working with Russian society, she also modifies the reality and offers the specific lens on how to perceive this war. And russia benefits from this lens. This is propaganda. 
   The following words of Christian Jungen that ZFF uses as a description of this film sound outrageous: 'Who are the Russian soldiers who are fighting against Ukraine? What do they think of Putin? The documentary has them speak their minds. A film that revealed more to me about this conflict than 100 newspaper articles.' 
9. Pro-war narratives and lie. in the same ZFF description it is said: “In her film, she gives voice to soldiers who have no understanding of the war's causes and soon find themselves mourning comrades who have become Putin's cannon fodder.” this description provided by ZFF already offers a certain perspective of the russian soldiers as victims of the war. “The soldiers in the film are carefully selected: there are no mobilised soldiers who are at war against their will, no Wagner fighters, no mobilised criminals. Not a trace of war crimes. There are no fanatics either. Only soldiers who are fighting for money or who have been sent to the front by patriotism.” - SRF.
   https://www.srf.ch/kultur/film-serien/propaganda-vorwuerfe-zff-haelt-am-umstrittenen-film-russians-at-war-fest-zu-recht
10. Provided information by ZFF is not relevant. The past of A. Trofimova is not addressed, the ZFF site also lacks a 'war' tag, film is instead categorized under 'politics' or 'social justice,' which reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem. Only in this petition 5 examples of disinformation and lie in a tiny ZFF description are revealed. Why does ZFF presents a modified perspective of the film and spreads distorted narratives? Who benefits from this disinformation?
11. Legitimizing propaganda film. By including russian propaganda film “Russians at War” in the program ZFF team automatically legitimizes the film. 
12. Rating propaganda film. How will the jury of the festival rate 14 documentary films when one of them is russian propaganda film? What is the procedure? How will the actors, directors and producers of other films compete with propaganda film?
13. Spreading disinformation as part of global pro-war strategies.This propaganda war is not unique to Ukraine but has been deployed in various areas, from Syria to Sakartvelo (Georgia) and Transnistria, where Russia has sought to exert influence through both military and soft power tactics. By spreading misinformation and framing its actions as defensive or humanitarian, Russia attempts to legitimize its geopolitical objectives while discrediting democratic responses. Therefore, banning “Russians at War” is not just a matter of standing with Ukraine; it is about recognizing the global stakes in this information war. It’s a battle between truth and disinformation, between democratic societies and authoritarian regimes.

 

We call:

1. Stadt Zurich and Bundesamt für Kultur to investigate how and why swiss Taxplayer money funded the screenings of russian propaganda and to take appropriate measures to ensure it doesn`t happen again.
   “Ab diesem Jahr erhält das ZFF von der Stadt Zürich neu 500'000 Franken. Der Gemeinderat hat die jährliche Subvention von 350'000 Franken pro Jahr um 150'000 erhöht.”
   https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/das-zurich-film-festival-erhaelt-mehr-geld-und-soll-gruener-werden-896811077934
2. Authorities to investigate whether legitimizing and giving a platform for russian propaganda film provided by disinformation about the film itself violates the Art. 261 of Swiss Criminal Code (Dis­crim­in­a­tion and in­cite­ment to hatred):
   “...any per­son who with the same ob­ject­ive or­gan­ises, en­cour­ages or par­ti­cip­ates in pro­pa­ganda cam­paigns … shall be li­able to a cus­todi­al sen­tence not ex­ceed­ing three years or to a mon­et­ary pen­alty.” https://lawbrary.ch/law/art/STGB-v2022.01-en-art-261.2/
3. ZFF immediately to cancel the screenings and any scheduled Q&A sessions with the director. Additionally, we ask ZFF to name the film “Russians at War” a propaganda film and to issue full refunds to those who purchased tickets for this film, along with a public explanation as to why it was removed from the program. Propaganda cannot be screened to public under any circumstances!
4. Sponsors to cease financial or any other support to film festival that screen Russian propaganda for providing a platform for whitewashing of the genocide being committed by russian soldiers against the people of Ukraine.

 

Solutions that we offer:

1. Public discussion instead of the screening. Christian Jungen said: “Filme sollen zu Diskussionen anregen” and we totally agree with this statement. We propose a public debate on Russian propaganda, featuring experts such as independent researchers and journalists. We know a lot of intellectuals to discuss this topic with and are open to partly overtake organisation. 
2. Alternative Film Recommendations. We recommend replacing Russians at War with films that genuinely represent the Russian perspective on the war, such as Intercepted, a documentary based on Russian soldiers’ phone calls to their families. This film shows the harsh reality of Russia’s aggression, unlike Trofimova’s whitewashed version. 
3. Alternative Public Program. We recommend replacing 4 screenings of Russians at War with open lectures, talks or discussions on Russian propaganda. We see this situation as a good opportunity to start public discussion about how propaganda is present in Switzerland and how we can deal with it. 

 

In conclusion, we urge ZFF to reconsider its decision to screen Russians at War. Russian propaganda must not be given a platform in Switzerland or anywhere else, especially at the festival like ZFF that aims to promote truth and social justice through cinema. 

Thank you for your attention to this critical issue. We are ready to meet, call, or provide further information.

We are grateful to everyone for sharing this petition with media, authorities, friends and families.

Thousand thanks to everyone who opposes russian hybrid aggression worldwide. 
Thanks to UCC (Ukrainian Canadian Congress) and activists in Toronto for fighting to cancel the screenings at the Toronto Film Festival. The main points in this petition stand on yours. 

by 2402 forum
in partnership with UASAZ​ , Swiss Network With Ukraine and Helvetia for Ukraine
24.09.2024