Alina Gorlova: This is Not Putin’s War
I am often asked how boycotting the protesting Russian cinema will help win the war.
I found a good example to talk about it with.
I came across the project of a documentary film by a Russian director, which is currently being presented in the industrial section of the IDFA Forum. For those who don’t know, it’s a section of upcoming films where producers and directors look for partners and funding.
The Russian director presents her new project called “Dom”.
€ 704,140 budget
How will a boycott of Russian cinema help us win the war? I think it will help us a lot to win the war if we lose our illusions. Creating a false picture of the aggressor country is absolutely not going to help us win the war. We found ourselves in this situation because Russia lulled the world community and even Ukrainians into complacency.
But let’s analyze the logline of this project, for example:
“A lost generation of young Russians arrives in Tbilisi Georgia. Forced to leave their homeland by Putin’s war and repression, they live as digital dissidents searching for a new home.”
Putin’s war.
This is not Putin’s war.
This is not Putin’s war.
This is not Putin’s war.
This is a war of Russians against Ukrainians. Putin has been in power for so long because he nurtured the Russians’ chauvinistic and imperial sensibilities. The definition of itself as a superior nation, its culture as great, and its main language as the main one are very pleasing to the people of Russia. Understanding this situation is key. Opposition Russians are speculating on the word “Putin” themselves, probably hoping to attract more attention to the project. “Putin’s war” is the creation of a false reality.
Again. I believe that, unfortunately, the authors of the project are engaged in manipulation.
I don’t know why this happened to Russian society; I think it’s not my business. But this is the task of their directors. That is why the use of the phrase “Putin’s war” from the very beginning is hypocritical. When Putin leaves, Russians will not automatically start repenting. I suspect that they will start preparing for a new war. That is why the statement about putin’s war is dangerous.
Further, the project description states:
“We are guilty of having allowed a monster to grow: “Putin’s Russia”, which is now destroying not only its own country but also its sister country.”
You could leave no comments here, but you can’t)))
First, in the sentence, the emphasis is shifted to the destruction of Russia. How does this monster destroy Russia? What did the authors mean? Excuse me, is Russia bombing Moscow? Killing its children and civilians? Have you turned any of your cities into Mariupol? In an attempt to make the project description more interesting and add sacrifice to their heroes, the authors completely muddled the issues.
And the highlight of this text is the presentation of Ukraine as a sister country of Russia. This is a classic narrative of Russian propaganda to justify aggression on the territory of an independent and, for them, at most, a neighboring state. It’s even hard for me to find the words here.
The perception of Russia and Ukraine as sister states supports the propaganda narrative. And supporting the narratives of Russian propaganda will definitely not help win the war.
I don’t care about the creative component of the project, I haven’t seen any of the director’s films, but the description of the project is infuriating and disorienting. Ukraine has not yet won this war. Supporting Russian propaganda narratives is harmful in this way.
