The Canada/France copro documentary Russians at War will premiere out of competition at the 81st Venice Film Festival.

The Italian film festival unveiled its full lineup on Tuesday (July 23), boasting 21 competition titles, including the Alberta-shot thriller The Order.

Russians at War is directed by Russian-Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova, who shot the feature within Russia’s borders to document life in the country during the war with Ukraine.

The doc is produced by Cornelia Principe, one of the producers behind the Oscar-nominated doc To Kill a Tiger, and is produced under Canada’s Raja Pictures and Paris-based prodco CAPA Presse (Films à Cinq). Additional producers are Sally Blake and Philippe Levasseur.

It is produced in association with TVO, Arte France and Knowledge Network and the participation of the Canada Media Fund.

Additional funding for the doc was provided by the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund, the Rogers Documentary Fund, the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, the Rogers TeleFund, Ontario Creates and federal tax credits.

The Order is directed by Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel and written by Zach Baylin. B.C.-based Arcana Studio’s Sean Patrick O’Reilly is among the film’s producers alongside star Jude Law via Riff Raff Entertainment, Stuart Ford of AGC Studios and Bryan Haas of Chasing Epic Pictures.

The film is based on the non-fiction book The Silent Brotherhood: Inside America’s Racist Underground by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, and follows a series of robberies and heists committed in the 1980s. Prime Video has acquired international rights.

Also making its world premiere is the Canadian short doc Who Loves the Sun from Arshia Shakiba, which examines old refineries in northern Syria. The short will make its debut in the Orizzonti short film competition.

The Venice Film Festival runs from Aug. 28 to Sept. 9.

Photo by Anastasia Trofimova