As Russia continues its massive invasion of Ukraine, much of the Western world is approving of the Vladimir Putin-led nation with varying degrees of seriousness.
The Ukrainian Film Academy, the membership body that includes film professionals and cultural figures from across the country, has issued a petition calling for an international boycott of Russian cinema.
The organization said that despite the sanctions imposed on Russia by governments around the world, the country remains active in the cultural field.
In a statement released from Kyiv, the group also called on film festivals to stop accepting films made in Russia until the invasion ends.
The Ukrainian Film Academy includes top actors and film industry figures from all over Ukraine. Specific asks the Council of Europe to exclude Russia from funding body Eurimage.
As well as the European Conference on Cinematographic Co-production, and the Moscow International Film Festival for refusing to recognize international filmmakers’ associations.
In addition to the debate over how to handle Russian cinema, the film industry is also facing the question of how to raise Ukrainian actors in the wake of Russia’s war against the nation.
IndieWire’s Eric Kohn recently called on the industry to increase its support for Ukrainian filmmakers, saying that recent Ukrainian films could have improved our understanding of the situation with Russia before the war broke out.
