Director Anastasia Trofimova worked for several years at the sanctioned Russian channel Russia Today and has been listed by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine as a person posing a threat to Ukraine's national security.
Trofimova admits to censoring dialogue where the subjects were directly critical of Putin or his government - Deadline 10 September 2024
The controversial film was going to be publicly screened at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, but faced a public backlash from some in the Ukrainian community who hadn't seen the film but called for it to be pulled from the festival as they deemed it Russian propaganda. TIFF intended to move forward with the screenings, however, they turned course after they said they received "significant threats" to festival operations. All screenings during the festival were canceled.
From France 24 (13/09/2024): The Toronto International Film Festival announced Thursday it was canceling all screenings of the documentary "Russians at War" due to "significant threats" to public safety and festival operations. Directed by Anastasia Trofimova, the film follows a Russian battalion during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The festival described the decision to cancel the screenings as "unprecedented".