The annual Venice Film Festival hosted several documentaries examining wars still underway that received both praise and criticism. Filmmakers offered insights into conflicts in Ukraine and Israel/Palestine through their work, though some faced skepticism over their portrayals.
In “Russians at War,” Canadian-Russian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova followed a Russian battalion in eastern Ukraine over seven months. She aimed to show the human side of Russian soldiers rarely seen in Western media. However, Ukrainian filmmakers argued it whitewashed Russian actions and ignored the larger context of attacks on civilians. Trofimova defended her work, stating she saw no war crimes during her time embedded and the soldiers were “absolutely ordinary guys.”
Ukrainian filmmaker Olga Zhurba’s documentary “Songs of Slow Burning Earth” took a different approach, focusing on the war’s human toll on Ukrainian civilians without battle scenes. However, she criticized “Russians at War” for providing a “distorted picture of reality” and spreading “false narratives.”
Other films included Israeli director Amos Gitai’s “Why War,” an exploration of conflicts, and “Of Dogs and Men,” set after an attack in Israel. Both faced claims of justifying “Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.”
Festival director Alberto Barbera supported screening diverse views, hoping films would not be “hostage to useless claims.” However, limited access to Russian-held areas in Ukraine raises questions about the completeness of Trofimova’s view from Russian forces.
The prevalence of such films reflects ongoing conflicts’ nature and the industry’s struggle to understand their complexity. Debates underscore cinema’s power to shape war perceptions and filmmakers’ responsibility in portraying sensitivity.
