The film Deaf Lovers by Russian director Boris Gucci will not be removed from the main program of the Tallinn Dark Nights Film Festival. This was stated by the film director, director of PÖFF Tiina Locke, reports UNN with reference to ERR.
"The film will be screened at PÖFF because we didn't choose it randomly, and it is included in the program because it is artistically and content-wise very sharp and gives us an opportunity to talk about topical issues," said Locke.
The world premiere of Deaf Lovers will take place at PÖFF, and according to Lockr, no one has seen the film yet, but in her opinion, a huge slanderous campaign has been launched.
"This film is being attacked very fiercely by Russian oppositionists, Belarusians and Ukrainians, whose points of view are, of course, very different, and this film can also be interpreted in very different ways, and that's its charm," she said.
The festival also sent out an appeal to the public, in which it emphasized that Deaf Lovers was not a Russian film.
The festival organizers state that the film's author, Boris Guts, left Russia after the outbreak of full-scale war and lived as a refugee in various European countries, now in Serbia.
It is alleged that he has repeatedly spoken out against the war started by Russia and the Putin regime.
However, no information is provided on whether Guts has given up his Russian passport.
However, the film was removed from the program Stand with Ukraine.
Deaf Lovers tells the story of a Ukrainian girl and a Russian guy 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, walking carefree and looking for intimacy. However, according to the Ukrainian filmmakers, the relationship at the center of the film gives the wrong impression, given the way Russian soldiers treated Ukrainian women during the war.
Addendum
The State Film Agency of Ukraine urged the organizers of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) to exclude the Russian film Deaf Lovers from the main program of the festival.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry urged its partners not to provide cultural venues to Russia.