The release of the first full-length film about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which premiered in the country on August 17, takes place in the context of a statement by the Russian authorities about the intention to stimulate the production of films that glorify Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, The Guardian writes, News.ro reports.

But “Svidok” failed in the meetings. With a budget of 200 million rubles (£1.5 million), the film grossed less than 14 million rubles (£110,000) in its first two weeks, with audiences across the country reporting empty cinemas.

The Kremlin’s speech about how Ukrainians are Nazis is the main theme of the film

In two hours of projection, the film covers a wide range of forgeries, which the Kremlin used to justify its invasion of Ukraine. On the eve of the invasion, Vladimir Putin said that Moscow should “denazify” its neighbor, lying that dangerous “Nazis” had infiltrated Ukraine.

The Witness focuses on a fictional character named Daniel Cohen, a famous Belgian violinist who arrives in Kyiv to perform in February 2022, days before Russian troops enter Ukraine.

As Russia begins its war, Cohen finds himself in the thick of the action, witnessing a series of “inhuman crimes and bloody provocations by Ukrainian nationalists,” according to the synopsis.

At one point, a Ukrainian commander is seen walking around with a copy of Mein Kampf, while other Ukrainian soldiers swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler. As a witness to these unspeakable horrors, Cohen seeks to tell the world the “truth” about this conflict.

Margarita Simonian’s government-funded comedy

Russia under Putin has a long history of promoting propaganda films. Shortly after Moscow illegally annexed Crimea, the country’s Ministry of Culture financed the film Crimea, which justified the seizure of the peninsula. Its creators stated that the idea for the film came directly from Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Not long after, the state-sponsored romantic comedy “Crimean Bridge” — about the Kerch Bridge, Putin’s prestigious project — was written by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the government-funded RT network. Like The Witness, both films were box office disasters and received scathing reviews from independent critics.

“There are simply no talented people in Z culture,” said critic Mykhailo Kozyrev, using the popular term for creatives who have joined the Russian pro-war icon Z.

Since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine, hundreds of prominent filmmakers, writers and singers have left the country, an exodus comparable to the 1922 “Ships of Soviet Philosophers,” the boats that carried some of Russia’s leading intellectuals into exile.

In an effort to fend off the “Barbie” craze, Russia’s culture ministry said Thursday it would not issue a special permit to pirate copyrights for the film because the film “does not meet the goals set by our president to strengthen values.” spiritual and traditional of our citizens”.