TIFF continues to disgrace itself.
The Toronto International Film Festival continues to disgrace itself and insult the Canadians who contribute to the festival through our tax dollars.
Yesterday, TIFF cancelled screenings of ‘Russians at War,’ a Russian propaganda film financed by Canadian taxpayer’s dollars.
TIFF’s decision to screen the movie had generated massive – and justified – outrage.
In announcing their decision however, TIFF may be spreading even more propaganda.
TIFF claimed their decision to cancel the festival was due to ‘threats,’ which were notably left unnamed and unspecified.
That appears to be an attempt to cast the protests against showing the film as somehow dangerous, even though the protests have been 100% peaceful.
Yet, according to Toronto Police, there was no recommendation made by the authorities to cancel the screening:
This article is quite something.@TIFF_NET blamed security concerns which Toronto Police didn’t verify and then touted their commitment to “democratic values” — but felt threatened by pamphlets.
We typically expect disinformation to come from Moscow, not Toronto. https://t.co/JThjkmIsWM pic.twitter.com/irD2yq8DiQ
— Aaron Gasch Burnett (@AaronGBurnett) September 12, 2024
This is the most relevant detail:
It appears that TIFF’s organizers couldn’t bring themselves to admit they made a huge mistake by showing a Russian propaganda film, and instead sought to demonize those protesting the film instead.
All in all, this has been – and continues to be – a disgraceful moment, and it shows our country is still far too susceptible to foreign interference and manipulation.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube