Anastasia Trofimova
 |
Anastasia Trofimova | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 February 1987 |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto (B.A.) University of Amsterdam (M.A.) |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, producer and cinematographer |
Anastasia Temerkhanovna Trofimova (Russian: Анастасия Темерхановна Трофимова, born February 17, 1987) is a Russian-Canadian documentary director, producer and cinematographer, most known for her work in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with films like Russians at War, Her War: Women vs. ISIS, Victims of ISIS, The Road to Raqqa, Congo, My Precious and others. Most of her films were made for the Russian state-controlled RT Documentary channel.[1]
Education
[edit]Fluent in English, Russian and intermediate Arabic, Trofimova earned her Bachelor's degree in Communication, Culture and Information Technology from the University of Toronto and her Master's degree in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam.[2]
Career
[edit]In 2024, Trofimova directed the documentary Russians at War, a film focusing on the perspectives of Russian soldiers during the Russo-Ukrainian war. The film's world premiere was held at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2024, where it received a five-minute standing ovation following its conclusion.[3] The film premiered on September 10, 2024 at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was denounced as Russian propaganda by regional experts, Ukrainian government officials, Canadian politicians and Ukrainian-Canadians,[4][5][6][7] with Trofimova being accused of whitewashing Russian war crimes by the Ukrainian consul-general in Toronto, Oleh Nikolenko.[8] TIFF organizers defended the film as anti-war,[9] with the public premiere delayed until September 17 due to "significant threats" against the film, according to TIFF.[10] Trofimova denied supporting the Russian invasion, stating that she was appalled by Putin's actions, and that "You do not turn to war to resolve whatever geopolitical issues, problems or grievances you have..."[11] and denied personally witnessing any war crimes by Russian soldiers.[12] She was also criticized by the Ukrainian Embassy in the Netherlands and Ukrainian publications for not attaining Ukrainian permission to enter Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.[13][14][15] Trofimova stated that she lacked access to the Ukrainian side due to her nationality and former association with RT.[14]
As a result of directing the film, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications included Trofimova in its list of people posing a threat to the national security of Ukraine,[16] and her name and contact information was added to the Myrotvorets "hit list of Ukrainian enemies".[17] In October 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal case against Trofimova, launching a pre-trial investigation under Art. 436.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on "justification, recognition as lawful, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants" and its dissemination.[18]
Filmography
[edit] |
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Victims of ISIS | Yes | Yes | No | Feature documentary on the Yazidis captured by ISIS and Abu Shuja, a former smuggler, who is using his network to steal them back. |
| Her War: Women Vs. ISIS | Yes | Yes | No | Feature documentary following new recruits in the Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ) who are fighting ISIS in Syria. | |
| 2017 | Congo, My Precious | Yes | Yes | No | Feature documentary film illustrating how nature's bounty, instead of being a blessing, becomes a deadly curse. |
| The Road to Raqqa | Yes | Yes | No | Documentary featuring stories from the three last stops on the road to the besieged ISIS capital of Raqqa: the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) compound, the medical point and the foreign volunteers base. | |
| 2018 | Iraqi Safe House | Yes | Yes | No | Feature documentary dealing with Iraq's orphan crisis and the trials of Hicham al-Dhahabi, a Baghdad man who founded the "Iraqi Safe House for Creativity", Iraq's first private orphanage. |
| Champions of the Spirit | Yes | Yes | No | Short documentary profiling the surviving members of the first Soviet Olympic Team (1952), which included Siege of Leningrad survivors, concentration camp prisoners and frontline soldiers. | |
| Mosul Between War and Peace | Yes | Yes | No | Short documentary examining attempts at coexistence and peace-building between people who fought ISIS and those who supported them in Mosul, Iraq. | |
| 2019 | Rivers of Discord: Iraq's Water Crisis | Yes | Yes | No | Short documentary about the possible solutions to Iraq's lack of clean water. |
| Sons of the Graveyard | Yes | Yes | No | Short documentary about the hereditary undertakers of Wadi Al-Salam in Najaf, Iraq, the world's largest cemetery. | |
| 2020 | Enslaved | Yes | Yes | No | Short documentary about "Alternative", the only NGO in Russia rescuing people from modern slavery. |
| 2021 | Mila's Angels | Yes | Yes | No | Documentary about style icon Mila Anufrieva, an influential businesswoman who was not afraid to take off her rose-colored glasses and look at the real world. |
| 2024 | Russians at War | Yes | Yes | Yes | Feature documentary film, with unprecedented access, following a Russian Army battalion in Ukraine. |
Awards
[edit]Trofimova is the winner of the Canada Screen Award for “Best Research” for HBO's “Tales from the Organ Trade”. She has been nominated for the Canada Screen Award for “Best Visual Research” for Adobe Productions International/White Pine's “Ice-Breaker: the ‘72 Summit Series”. She is a five-time returning judge for the News and Documentary Emmy Awards.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ "'Russians at War' documentary at TIFF sparks backlash over Canadian funding | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
- ^ "About". Trofimova.works.
- ^ ""Russians At War" plays at TIFF Lightbox after festival canceled screenings due to threats". szechuansuperbe. Szechuan Palace. September 18, 2024.
- ^ Vourlias, Christopher (September 5, 2024). "Venice Documentaries Attempt to Reckon With Russia's 'Historical, Transformative, Apocalyptic' War in Ukraine". Variety. Archived from the original on 2024-09-07. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- ^ "Director Of 'Russians At War' Doc Bats Back Suggestions Of Whitewashing: "We Have To Humanize Everyone. This Is A Huge Tragedy For Our Region" – Venice". Deadline. September 5, 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- ^ Balmer, Crispian (2024-09-05). "Russian soldiers given their chance to speak at Venice". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- ^ "Sympathetic view of Russian soldiers creates controversy at Venice Film Festival". euronews. September 6, 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- ^ "Ahead of Toronto festival premiere, filmmaker defends documentary on Russian soldiers, says journalists 'follow the story where it goes'". September 9, 2024.
- ^ Hertz, Barry (2024-09-11). "TIFF stands firm on decision to premiere controversial Russians at War documentary". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2024-09-11. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
- ^ Boynton, Sean (2024-09-12). "TIFF suspends 'Russians At War' screenings due to 'significant threats'". Global News. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Freeman, Colin (2024-10-03). "The film being blacklisted for 'humanising' Russians At War". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2024-10-03. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
- ^ Balmer, Crispian (2024-09-05). "Russian soldiers given their chance to speak at Venice". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
- ^ Mukhina, Olena (2025-03-25). ""Part of psychological operation": Ukraine warns Netherlands against screening Russians at war documentary". Euromaidan Press. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
- ^ a b "Ahead of Toronto festival premiere, filmmaker defends documentary on Russian soldiers, says journalists 'follow the story where it goes'". The Kyiv Independent. 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
- ^ "Ukraine Opens Criminal Investigation Into Director of "Russians at War" Film". UNITED24 Media. 2024-10-08. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
- ^ "Режисерку скандального фільму "Росіяни на війні" включено до переліку осіб, що загрожують національній безпеці України". September 17, 2024.
- ^ "Ukraine cancelt russischen Kriegsfilm in Zürich: Regisseurin Trofimova über ihre Doku von der Front". YouTube. September 27, 2024.
- ^ "Ukraine's Security Service opens criminal case against director of Russians at War propaganda film Trofimova". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
