Karlovy Vary Called Out By Ukrainian Filmmakers Over Russian Boycott About-Face (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Christopher Vourlias Several leading Ukrainian filmmakers have called out the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for including a Russian film in its 56th edition, which kicks off on Friday, insisting that it’s reneged on a promise not to welcome any movies with ties to the Russian government.In a letter addressed to artistic director Karel Och and festival leadership that was shared with Variety, the filmmakers behind Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s “Pamfir,” Maksym Nakonechnyi’s “Butterfly Vision” and Valentyn Vasyanovych’s “Reflection,” criticized the long-running Czech festival for including “Captain Volkonogov Escaped,” by directors Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov, in its Horizons sidebar.

The film, which had its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival last year, received backing from the Russian culture ministry.“Screening any film that was financially supported by the Russian Ministry of Culture in the midst of war will whitewash Putin’s regime and make it stronger,” reads the letter, “giving an opportunity to the Russian propaganda machine to claim it has European support now, when the Russian army is killing thousands of innocent people, destroying cities and its theaters, libraries, schools and memorials, trying to completely kill the Ukrainian culture.”Insisting that a platform for “Captain Volkonogov” at the distinguished Czech fest “distracts the international community from war crimes committed against Ukraine,” the filmmakers called on the festival to “suspend any cooperation with people and institutions directly or indirectly supported by the Russian government.”Earlier this year, Karlovy Vary leadership denounced the invasion of Ukraine but distanced themselves from calls for a.