“Rape, Violence, Abuse”: The Threats That Led the Toronto Film Festival to Pull ‘Russians at War’

The Toronto Film Festival ( ) has revealed that “hundreds” of threats made against staff led to the festival – including threats of violence and sexual assault. TIFF said last Thursday it had been “forced to pause” three upcoming public screenings of Russian-Canadian director Anastasia Trofimova’s documentary, after being “made aware of significant threats to festival operations and public safety.” The doc was slated to have its North American premiere across the fest’s final Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“This decision has been made in order to ensure the safety of all festival guests, staff, and volunteers,” the festival added in a statement. The announcement was met with some skepticism from Canada’s documentary and media communities, with several publications speculating that TIFF had simply gotten cold feet in the face of public protests and political pressure. However, on Tuesday afternoon the festival made good on its promise to go ahead with the film, hosting afternoon and evening screenings at its own TIFF Lightbox.

Introducing the documentary before an anxious crowd at 2 p.m. E.

T., TIFF CEO told attendees of the “vocal opposition” his team had received to its decision to screen the film. “Most of that was civil and peaceful,” Bailey said.

“Some of it was terrifying.” Bailey continued, “In emails and phone calls, TIFF staff received hundreds of instances of verbal abuse. Our staff also received threats of violence, including threa.