Tallinn Film Festival refuses to cancel screening of film Deaf Lovers by Russian director
Pravda Ukraine
The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has refused to remove the film Deaf Lovers by Russian director Boris Guts, about a romance between a Ukrainian immigrant and a Russian, from its programme despite calls from Ukraine’s State Film Agency and the Foreign Ministry.
“The film will be screened at PÖFF because we did not choose it by chance; it is included in the programme because it is artistically and content-wise very sharp and provides an opportunity to reflect on current issues,” Estonian public broadcaster ERR quoted PÖFF director Tiina Lokk as saying.
Lokk stated that no one has seen the film yet, but a “huge slander campaign” has already been launched around it.
“This film is being attacked very fiercely by Russian opposition activists, Belarusians and Ukrainians, who, of course, have very different points of view, and this film can also be interpreted in very different ways, and that’s the beauty of it,” she said.
In addition, the festival has sent out an appeal to the public, emphasising that Deaf Lovers “is not a Russian film, as its creator Boris Guts left Russia after the outbreak of the full-scale war”.
What’s wrong with the film Deaf Lovers?
The film Deaf Lovers was made by Russian director Boris Guts. The director himself calls it an erotic drama. He is now based in Europe after a long career in Russian television.
The film tells the story of the love between a Ukrainian immigrant and a Russian man, both played by Russian actors Daniil Gazizullin and Anastasia Shemyakina.
“A young woman and a young man meet in Istanbul. They both lack the money to live in the foreign city and they are both deaf. They connect, spend time together and do what young people always do – party carelessly and seek intimacy. They feel they are in love. But all is not quite as it seems. She’s from Ukraine, he’s from Russia, and there’s a war going on somewhere back home,” says the description of the film on the festival’s website.
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