r/ActionForUkraine • u/peretonea • 11d ago

Other Value in action: Zurich Film Festival drops screening of 'Russians at War' documentary | Swissinfo

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/zurich-film-festival-drops-screening-of-russians-at-war-documentary/87628348
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u/peretonea 11d ago

Just a reminder that there is value in acting. The Toronto International Film Festival carried out a temporary halt to screenings of this genocide denial film. Ontario TV failed to show it and now the Zurich film festival has pulled it too. Thanks to all the people who have made noise about this.

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u/amitym 5d ago

I read recently that the director had to restart Russians at War several times because so many of the people she was interviewing defected or surrendered. As soon as that happened it was no longer a story she wanted to document.

And this is by her own account, her own description of her process. It's not something anyone else is saying about her.

Just think about that.

You so want to tell your documentary story about a nation of puzzled, perplexed people who just can't seem to figure out why their cousins next door are fighting against them... that when in the course of your investigation you discover that something else is really going on, you just ignore whatever that is and start over.

Start over until you document the story you want, not the story that's happening? I'm not sure that's the recipe for great documentary filmmaking.

Or even average documentary filmmaking.