Overview
- Kyiv's foreign ministry labeled Woody Allen's participation in Moscow International Film Week "a shame" and "an insult" to Ukrainian actors and directors killed or injured by Russian forces.
- Allen joined the festival on August 24 via videoconference for the Legends of World Cinema session moderated by Russian director Fyodor Bondarchuk.
- Russian state media highlighted Allen's praise for Russian cinema and his remark that artificial intelligence could never reach the level of Dostoevsky's works.
- Asked about filming in Russia, Allen was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying he had no offers but would not oppose a script about the appeal of life in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
- Festival organizers promoted the event as a confidential artistic dialogue, online backlash followed in Ukraine, and Allen and his representatives had not issued a public response.