Ukraine protesting against release of Russian film about Crimea annexation in Belarus

The Ukrainian Embassy in Minsk handed over a protest note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus due to the screening of the Russian film “Crimea” trailer in Minsk film theaters. The note was handed already on July 14.

The film “Crimea” shot with the support of the Russian state “Cinema Fund”, tells the love story of young people from Kyiv and Sevastopol in the background of events in Ukraine in 2014. For the first time the silver screen will show the annexation of Crimea by Russian troops. The trailer shows the landing of Russian troops on the peninsula. The main message is that this was done in order to “prevent bloodshed.”

“We had to save the people in Crimea, we had to do it before God,” said the director of “Crimea” Alexei Pimenov in an interview with TV channel “Star”. – If not for our actions at the time, there would have been corpses”.

Alexei Pimenov calls the film “anti-war” and wishes all those who would become his enemy after the release to drop dead.

The film is scheduled to appear on Russian screens on 28 September 2017.

The representatives of the “Kinovideoprokat” — an organization responsible for film distribution in Belarus– told “Belsat” that the release date of the film in Belarus is unknown, and there is no absolute guarantee that the picture will be shown in Belarus. In this sense, the screening of the trailer does not change anything, as the trailer itself is part of a compulsory ad unit shown along witht the films that are already in the box.

Belarusian culture expert and film critic Maksim Zhbankou believes that the “Crimea” demonstration tape will not benefit the national interests of Belarus.

Co-chairman of the “Belarusian Christian Democracy” party Pavel Sevyarynets said that the film should clearly be banned in Belarus.

belsat.eu