Anastasia Trofimova risked her life to make 鈥淩ussians at War鈥 鈥 and then spent the next year fighting to have the film shown.
Now, after months of cancellations, protests and threats, the controversial documentary will bypass traditional channels and release directly to audiences on Tuesday.
The film, which follows Russian soldiers on the front lines of the war in Ukraine, drew a standing ovation at its Venice world premiere in 2024 but quickly became a lightning rod.
Its North American debut at TIFF last year was met with demonstrations from pro-Ukraine groups who called it Russian propaganda. Its screenings had to be rescheduled due to "significant threats to festival operations and public safety."
The blowback continued throughout the year, with festivals including Athens and Zurich withdrawing the film due to mounting protests and security concerns.
Meanwhile, TVO scrapped plans to air the documentary after the backlash, leaving it without a distributor.
鈥淚 was getting death threats and all sorts of abuse,鈥 says Trofimova of the backlash.
鈥淚t was shocking. You go to the war against all odds, you bring back a story, you go deeper than other people because you're that much more obsessed about it, and you are getting attacked by people who have not been even close to the war, but they're telling you what it's like.鈥
The Russian-春色直播 director points out that many of the film鈥檚 detractors said they hadn鈥檛 seen the film and didn鈥檛 intend to.
鈥淭hey're refusing to see the film, but have very strong opinions on it. So that's been a bit surprising,鈥 she says on a video call.
In 鈥淩ussians at War,鈥 Trofimova embeds herself with Russian troops on the front lines of the conflict in Ukraine, capturing their personal experiences and perspectives. While some have praised it for its unfiltered portrayal of soldiers' realities, others have criticized it for lacking historical and political context about the invasion, raising concerns that it might whitewash the actions of the Russian military.
The film's producer Cornelia Principe says the direct-to-audience release is 鈥減artly by design, partly by necessity.鈥
鈥淚t was important for us to get it out there so people can see it, because part of the controversy is coming from places where people haven't seen the film,鈥 explains the Oscar-nominated producer behind 2022鈥檚 鈥淭o Kill a Tiger.鈥
Principe says 鈥淩ussians at War鈥 is still being shopped to European broadcasters and will air on British Columbia鈥檚 Knowledge Network this fall as part of a series of films about the war in Ukraine.
Lawyers representing the film threatened TVO with legal action last year for pulling the film, but Principe says both parties have since reached 鈥渁 mutually satisfactory settlement of our dispute and have agreed not to comment further.鈥
She says her production company, Raja Pictures, has reclaimed the film鈥檚 rights.
The film is available to rent worldwide at , except in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, where producers plan to offer it for free at a later date.
Principe says they took inspiration from the Oscar-winning documentary 鈥淣o Other Land,鈥 about the Israel-Palestine conflict, and 鈥淯nion,鈥 which follows Amazon workers鈥 fight to unionize 鈥 both titles faced distribution hurdles and ultimately went the direct-to-audience route.
Trofimova says the intense backlash to 鈥淩ussians at War鈥 revealed just how vulnerable films can be to organized attacks.
鈥淚t was shocking how easy it is to attack a film. If you are an interest group, if you're a state, if you鈥檙e a corporation, it's not that hard to get screenings cancelled or to muddy the waters around what it鈥檚 about,鈥 she says.
鈥淗ow do we make complex films and get them out there, despite the fact that they will most likely be attacked by some sort of interest group?鈥
Principe worries about the chilling effect such pressure could have on creative freedom.
鈥淎re we leading to situations where filmmakers will self-censor, where broadcasters will self-censor, where festivals will self-censor and not take on difficult things?鈥
Still, Principe says she and Trofimova 鈥渓istened to what people were saying.鈥
In response to criticism that 鈥淩ussians at War鈥 lacked sufficient context on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they added an introductory card to the direct-to-audience version noting that the invasion is 鈥渢he deadliest conflict on European soil since WWII鈥 and that war crimes investigations by the International Criminal Court are underway.
As for those still reluctant to watch the film, Trofimova says: 鈥淲atch it when you鈥檙e ready.鈥
鈥淚t's not a film where it's like 鈥榞otcha.鈥 It's not a film where I aimed to dehumanize someone. It's a document of history and this war is scary. And this war, it is a tragedy and it's still continuing. And when you watch it, just know that it's continuing,鈥 she says.
鈥淚 hope, on the human part, we can see each other as people, and I hope that once you see what war looks like, anyone who has any illusions will understand a little bit more.鈥
This report by 春色直播was first published Aug. 12, 2025.
