TIFF suspends ‘Russians At War’ screenings due to ‘significant threats’

The Toronto International Film Festival said Thursday it is suspending upcoming screenings of the controversial documentary Russians At War due to “significant threats to festival operations and public safety.”

The announcement came a day after TIFF stood by the film, which is helmed by a Russian-Canadian director and received Canadian public funding, amid growing backlash from the Ukrainian community and government officials for both Ukraine and Canada.

A large protest was held outside Tuesday’s debut screening and another was planned for Friday.

The protests were organized by Ukrainian-Canadian community leaders who have called the film “Russian propaganda” — a charge denied by the filmmaker and festival organizers — and called for government and criminal investigations and for TIFF to cancel screenings of the film.

“As a cultural institution, we support civil discourse about and through films, including differences of opinion, and we fully support peaceful assembly,” the statement from the festival said Thursday. “However, we have received reports indicating potential activity in the coming days that pose significant risk; given the severity of these concerns, we cannot proceed as planned.

“This is an unprecedented move for TIFF.”

The festival said it will pause screenings scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday but is committed to showing the film “when it is safe to do so,” adding organizers “believe this film has earned a place in our festival’s lineup.”

A spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service told Global News the decision to suspend the screenings were made by TIFF organizers “and was not based on any recommendation from Toronto Police,” who are not aware of any active threats.

“We were aware of the potential for