Woody Allen is in warm water after taking part in an interview for Moscow’s International Film Week. Allen appeared virtually and was interviewed by
Woody Allen is in warm water after taking part in an interview for Moscow’s International Film Week. Allen appeared virtually and was interviewed by Russian director Fyodor Bondartchuk—an outspoken supporter of Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned the filmmaker’s appearance, calling it “a disgrace and an insult to the sacrifice of Ukrainian actors and filmmakers who have been killed or injured by Russian war criminals.” The statement also accuses Allen of turning “a blind eye to the atrocities Russia” committed in Ukraine, and declares, “Culture must never be used to whitewash crimes or serve as a propaganda tool.”
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During the discussion, the Annie Hall director reaffirmed his admiration for Russian cinema, citing Sergei Bondartchuk’s 1969 Oscar-winning adaptation of War and Peace as a favorite, according to the Russian outlet RIA Novosti. Allen also reportedly said that while he has no plans to make a movie in Russia, he has “only good feelings for Moscow and St. Petersburg.”
These comments have provoked outrage from Ukraine, which has been campaigning for Russia’s total cultural isolation since Putin began his war against the nation in 2022. Ukrainian authorities have systematically denounced the participation of Western personalities in infrequent but symbolically significant Russian events.
Allen reacted to the criticism in a statement to the Guardian. While asserting that “Putin is totally in the wrong” and that “the war he has caused is appalling,” the Oscar winner also defended his participation in the festival: “Whatever politicians have done, I don’t feel cutting off artistic conversations is ever a good way to help.”
This controversy comes years after Allen largely left American filmmaking to focus his career in Europe. Nearly 10 years ago, Allen was rejected by a gigantic swathe of the Hollywood establishment after his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow renewed her accusation that Allen sexually assaulted her when she was a child. Allen has always maintained his innocence, but his recent films, 2020’s Rifkin’s Festival and 2023’s Coup de Chance, were shot in Spain and France, respectively. Neither movie received a wide theatrical release in the US, though they’re available on streaming platforms.
Original story in VF France.
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