Europe Asia News

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement regarding the inclusion of Ilya Khrzhanovskiy's film “DAU” in the main competition of the Venice International Film Festival.

The ministry drew attention to the importance of the Venice Film Festival in international cinema and said it was concerning that the film was among the works competing for the Golden Lion.

The statement said that at a time when Russia's war against Ukraine is continuing, the presence on a prestigious cultural platform of a project alleged to be linked to the Russian state and its networks of influence sends a troubling message.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it respected the festival's curatorial independence and artistic assessments, while arguing that cultural works cannot be evaluated independently of their sources of funding and potential political influence.

The statement also alleged that Russia uses culture as an instrument of state policy and hybrid warfare.