Documentary Organization of Canada profoundly alarmed by TVO decision to withdraw support for the documentary “Russians at War.”

SIGN DOC’S PETITION: https://win.newmode.net/documentaryorganizationofcanada/reversetvodecisiontocensorrussiansatwar

Toronto International Film Festival, Wednesday September 11th 2024 – The Documentary Organization of Canada is profoundly alarmed by TVOntario’s Board of Directors’ recent unilateral decision to withdraw support for the documentary “Russians at War.”

This project, a Canadian-French co-production, was developed through a multi-year collaborative effort involving the filmmakers and TVO’s Documentary team. TVO’s team has traditionally operated with editorial independence, fostering essential collaboration with independent filmmakers through established journalistic processes of review and discussion. The Board’s decision undermines these fundamental processes and raises serious concerns about political interference, and must be confronted in order to preserve the integrity of our media institutions.

Independent media is the cornerstone of democracy, essential for ensuring accountability and informed public discourse. Documentaries bring critical in-depth perspectives that allow for nuance, context and reflection. Protecting the documentary creator’s ability to explore controversial subjects is vital for a healthy society. This action by the Board of a public broadcaster to censor content poses a serious threat to independent media in Canada. TVO’s decision risks setting a dangerous precedent and must be immediately reversed.

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About DOC

The Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) is the collective voice of Canada’s independent documentary creators. Founded in 1983 to represent the interests of Canada’s growing community of indie doc filmmakers, today DOC has over 1300 members across six chapters from coast to coast. DOC conducts valuable research and advocacy work that strengthens the ecosystem for documentary production, and runs National programs that support our community. DOC’s mandate as a member-driven organization is to advocate for an equitable, sustainable environment for documentary production and to strengthen the sector within the broader cultural industry.

For more information, please contact:

Sarah Spring, Executive Director
Documentary Organization of Canada
sarah@docorg.ca