The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned Woody Allen for speaking virtually at a Russian film festival over the weekend, calling his participation in the event "a disgrace and an insult" to the victims of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the AP reports. According to Russian media, Allen spoke Sunday at the Moscow International Film Week via video conference. The appearance put him at odds with the Hollywood establishment, which has embraced the Ukraine cause during Russia's 3 1/2-year war, with prominent actors signing on to the United24 crowdfunding initiative and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy making virtual appearances at past Golden Globes and Grammys ceremonies.
- Footage aired by Russian state TV showed the filmmaker addressing a tightly packed movie theater from a massive screen, with pro-Kremlin film director Fyodor Bondarchuk moderating the session. Russian media reports quoted Allen as saying that he has always liked Russian cinema, recounting his past trips to Russia and the Soviet Union, and talking about what he would do if he were to receive a proposal to direct a movie in the country.
- Ukraine's Foreign Ministry in an online statement on Monday said that it "strongly condemns" Allen's participation in the festival, which "brings together supporters and mouthpieces of Putin." The ministry called it "a disgrace and an insult to the victims among Ukrainian actors and filmmakers who have been killed or wounded by Russian war criminals," adding that Allen "is deliberately turning a blind eye to the atrocities that Russia has been committing in Ukraine."
- In a statement to the AP on Monday, Allen criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and denounced the invasion but called for cultural exchange to continue. "When it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, I believe strongly that Vladimir Putin is totally in the wrong. The war he has caused is appalling," Allen said. "But, whatever politicians have done, I don't feel cutting off artistic conversations is ever a good way to help."
The website of the festival, which runs through Wednesday, billed Allen as one of its headliners, along with Serbian film director Emir Kusturica (who has been open about his support for Putin) and American actor Mark Dacascos. Moscow International Film Week is a relatively new festival, first held in the Russian capital in August 2024. It is separate from the decades-old Moscow International Film Festival, which in 2022 was stripped of its International Federation of Film Producers Associations accreditation following the invasion of Ukraine.
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