Dissident Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovsky, who is at the Venice Film Festival with competition title “DAU” countered claims by Ukrainian officials that the film has Russian state links and took a clear position on the ongoing war.
“Look, my position about Russia-Ukrainian war has been very clear from the beginning of the war,” he said. “Actually even [from] before the full invasion in 2022, my position was clear. I commented many times,” Khrzhanovsky added.
“The only thing I can wish for is peace and success for the Ukrainian government to succeed in the best possible way, to save the country and to win this war,” the director continued.
Regarding his ties to Sergei Adoniev, the Russian oligarch who originally bankrolled the project, Khrzhanovsky specified that “he was the first financier,” adding: “He financed the ‘DAU’ project from 2008 to 2019 and his generous support was great and very important for the art project,” noting that at the time Russia was not on any sanction lists. But “Over the past seven years, the project has had a completely different life,” in terms of its financing, he said.
Asked whether he was critical of the film’s lead actor Teodor Currentzis, the Greek-Russian classical conductor who has refused to explicitly criticize Vladimir Putin or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Khrzhanovsky said: “Look, I can criticize myself for things. And I prefer to judge myself for things and try to act and behave in a way that I feel it should be connected to my spirit and soul.” But “Some people choose what I don’t like,” he added “And I think everyone is responsible for their own choices.”
