The Ukrainian State Film Agency has requested a review of the decision to include the film Deaf Lovers by Russian director Boris Guts in the Tallinn Film Festival’s Standing with Ukraine program. Such films carry the risk of promoting propaganda that justifies aggression and may be part of Russia’s information strategy, the agency’s press service reports.
From November 8 to 24, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) will be held in Estonia. One of its programs, Standing with Ukraine, is dedicated to Ukraine and aims to support the country. “These films are dedicated to Ukrainians who are tirelessly fighting for their future,” reads a statement on PÖFF’s website.
The Russian film Deaf Lovers tells the story of a romantic relationship between a Ukrainian refugee and a Russian man who meet in Istanbul amid the war in Ukraine. Both have hearing impairments and are “seeking connection.”
“Given Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the immense suffering of the Ukrainian people, it is especially important to ensure that cultural platforms do not become tools for films that blur the understanding of the reality faced by Ukrainians. We are deeply convinced that allowing the screening of Russian films in today’s context carries the risk of promoting propaganda that justifies aggression and may be part of the aggressor’s information strategy,” states the Ukrainian State Film Agency.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that war crimes cannot be justified, and another attempt to humanize Russia as an aggressor and whitewash it by using culture as a tool is disheartening. The agency urged the organizers to reconsider including Deaf Lovers in the program.
The Congress of Ukrainians in Estonia also plans to protest against the screening of the Russian propaganda film. However, as seen with the screenings of The Russians Are at War at festivals in Venice and Toronto, festivals are generally reluctant to change their programs. However, unlike those festivals, the Tallinn screenings are intended to support Ukraine, making the situation with Deaf Lovers seem, at the very least, absurd.
