“The Russian film “Deaf Lovers” will not be removed from the main program of the Tallinn Festival Director of the PÖFF festival Tiina Lokk said that the film “Deaf Lovers” will remain in the main program. The tape tells about the relationship between a deaf Ukrainian woman and a Russian man in Istanbul.”, — write on: unn.ua
“The film will be shown at PÖFF because we did not choose it by chance, but it is included in the program because it is artistically and meaningfully very sharp and gives an opportunity to talk about current topics,” Locke said.
Deaf Lovers will have its world premiere at PÖFF, and according to Lokr, no one has seen the film yet, but she believes there is a massive smear campaign underway.
“This film is under very fierce attack from Russian oppositionists, Belarusians and Ukrainians, who, of course, have very different points of view, and this film can also be interpreted in very different ways, that’s its charm,” she said.
The festival also sent out an appeal to the public, in which it was emphasized that “Deaf Lovers” is allegedly not a Russian film.
The organizers of the festival say that the author of the film, Boris Guts, left Russia after the start of the full-scale war and lived as a refugee in various European countries, now in Serbia.
He is said to have repeatedly spoken out against the war started by Russia and the Putin regime.
However, no information is provided on whether Guts renounced his Russian passport.
However, the film was removed from the Stand with Ukraine program.
The film “Deaf Lovers” tells the story of a Ukrainian girl and a Russian boy who meet in Istanbul. They are both deaf and do not have enough money to live in an unfamiliar city, but the two young lovers spend time together, carefree walks and search for intimacy. However, according to the Ukrainian directors, the relationship at the center of the film gives the wrong impression, given how Russian soldiers treated Ukrainian women during the war.
Addition
The State Film Agency of Ukraine called on the organizers of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) to exclude the Russian film “Deaf Lovers” from the festival’s main program.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine urged partners not to provide Russia with cultural venues.