Internationally recognized Bulgarian-Canadian animator and film director Theodore Ushev has declined an award from the Moscow Film Festival to protest Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in an address that was banned by the Kremlin's censors.
In a nearly three-minute clip in Russian, English, and Bulgarian that was submitted to the organizers, Ushev accused President Vladimir Putin's administration of ordering the murder of innocent Ukrainians and inverting good and evil.
Russia's leadership is "writing commands to shoot bombs at people who just want to be free," the 55-year-old director says in the clip.
Ushev's film Phi 1.618, an apocalyptic tale about a rebellious punk girl trying to save the world from the plans of a race of loveless, immortal men, was selected for the Moscow festival's Special Jury Prize.
"In all other circumstances, I would be happy to accept this trophy -- it symbolizes the victory of good over evil," he says of the award. "But today, here, in this beautiful country, in beautiful Moscow, the places of good and evil have been displaced."
The Moscow event has been among the world's most prestigious international film festivals since its founding in 1935, but its accreditation was suspended more than a year ago by the International Federation of Film Producers amid global outrage over Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since 1999, the Moscow Film Festival has been run by vocal Putin ally Nikita Mikhalkov, who has publicly backed Russia's wars in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine.
This year's festival ran from April 20 to 27 and culminated in a tape-delayed broadcast of the awards ceremony.
Since he was not in Russia, the organizers had asked Ushev to record a video acceptance speech.
Russian television broadcast the ceremony with the announcement of the award for Phi 1.618 but ignored Ushev's outspoken criticism of a war that Russian censors call a "special military operation."
In place of Ushev's clip, an announcer said: "The creators of the film could not attend the ceremony. The award will be presented to them later."
In Ushev's actual response, which he shared on Facebook, the filmmaker challenged the Kremlin's official narrative of the conflict.
"They tell you that the dragon is the good one, that you should send your children to be killed," he says in the clip, adding with respect to Ukrainians' suffering, "I can't accept this award in a city where orders are issued for the murder of children, women, and old people."
"Therefore it is with great regret that I must refuse to accept this trophy," Ushev says.
Many prominent Western cultural figures have avoided traveling to Russia to protest the war, show support for Ukrainians, or avoid the risk of infringing unprecedented international sanctions aimed at forcing an end to the war.
Bulgaria, an EU and NATO member, has deep historical ties to Russia and shares a common script, Cyrillic.
As in many places, there is ongoing debate among Bulgarians over whether filmmakers, musicians, writers, and other cultural contributors should avoid Russian-language translations and distribution of their works there.
Earlier this month, Georgi Gospodinov, who is perhaps Bulgaria’s most famous living writer, spoke out in favor of his decision to allow his dystopian novel Time Shelter to be translated into Russian and sold in Russia.
SEE ALSO: While Foreign Authors Boycott Russia, Bulgarian Novelist Says He Wants Russians To Read His BookKyiv has urged a global cultural boycott of Russia and the participation of Russian nationals in international events, from the arts and entertainment to sports competitions.
Many Russian performers have had their invitations to perform in the West rescinded in the past 14 months, although for instance a prominent Russian-American classical pianist recently performed alongside the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra.
SEE ALSO: Shunned Elsewhere, Bulgaria To Allow Concerts Of Pro-Putin, Pro-War PianistWeeks ago, Ushev acknowledged submitting Phi 1.618 for the Moscow Film Festival's competition.
In his unaired video response to the organizers, Ushev expresses hope that "peace will come" and "good will win the war over evil."
"Everyone has to choose which side they are on," he said.
Phi 1.618 premiered in Bulgaria and Canada in October to widespread critical acclaim. It is based on a story by Bulgarian Vladislav Todorov.
Its title is rooted in the so-called golden ratio first celebrated by ancient Greeks and used in the creation of the fictional immortals at the center of the plot.
Ushev was nominated for an Academy Award in 2016 for his short animated movie Blind Vaysha, which tells the tale of girl who sees the past out of one eye and the future from the other and stuggles to live in the present.