Ukraine blasts Woody Allen for online talk at Moscow event

Director Woody Allen poses for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Coup de Chance' during the 80th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine on Monday slammed U.S. filmmaker Woody Allen over an online appearance at a government-backed Moscow film festival, accusing the director of whitewashing Russia’s invasion.

Allen had a day earlier addressed the Moscow International Film Week via video link, where he was hailed in a session titled “legends of world cinema” and said he would consider shooting a film in Russia if the chance presented itself.

The event was backed by Moscow city hall and supported by a host of Russian state-backed media companies.

“We strongly condemn Woody Allen’s decision to bless Moscow’s bloody festival with his address,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Facebook.

“Culture must never be used to whitewash crimes or serve as a propaganda tool,” it added, posting a photo of Allen’s trademark black-frame glasses over a photo of a ravaged apartment block, hit by a Russian bomb.

Most Western cultural figures have cancelled performances in Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022.

In his address to a packed hall on Sunday, Allen was interviewed by Russian director Fyodor Bondarchuk, a famed filmmaker and long-time supporter and campaigner for Russian President Vladimir Putin

“I’m someone who has always enjoyed Russian cinema,” Allen said, according to videos from the event.

Allen is best known for romantic comedies “Annie Hall” (1977), “Manhattan” (1979), “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (2008) and “Blue Jasmine” (2013), and is considered a comic genius by many for his intellectual and intimate style.

His work, however, lost some of its lustre with critics in later years, and scandal has increasingly overshadowed his films.

Allen hardly ever works in the United States anymore, where he has been shunned by much of Hollywood following allegations he molested his and Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter Dylan when she was seven.

He has long denied the allegations, saying they were fabricated by Farrow.