American filmmaker Woody Allen has found himself at the center of a heated international controversy following his virtual appearance at Moscow International Film Week on August 24, 2025. Allen’s participation, which included a Q&A session moderated by pro-Kremlin director Fyodor Bondarchuk, has drawn strong condemnation from Ukrainian officials and led to a wave of cancellations of Allen-inspired theatrical productions across Ukraine.
Allen, who addressed the Russian audience via video link, praised Russian cinema and reflected on his past visits to Moscow and St Petersburg. According to Russian media reports cited by The Independent and RIA Novosti, Allen shared, “I have been to Moscow and St Petersburg. I’ve always liked Russian cinema. I had the pleasure of meeting Sergei Bondarchuk a few years ago in New York. I watched the Russian film War and Peace which is almost seven hours long. I watched it in one day.” He added that, while he had not received any proposals to make a film in Russia, “If there were similar proposals, I would sit down and think about what the script could be about how well you feel in Moscow and St Petersburg.”
Yet it was Allen’s decision to participate in the event—at a time when Russia’s war in Ukraine has entered its fourth year—that ignited outrage in Kyiv. On August 25, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strongly worded statement, calling Allen’s appearance “a disgrace and an insult to the sacrifice of Ukrainian actors and filmmakers who have been killed or injured by Russian war criminals in their ongoing war against Ukraine.” The ministry further accused Allen of “deliberately turning a blind eye to the atrocities that Russia has been committing in Ukraine,” and warned that “culture must never be used to whitewash crimes or serve as a propaganda tool.”
The condemnation from Ukraine’s Foreign Minister was echoed by several major Ukrainian theatres, who quickly moved to distance themselves from the American director. As reported by Ukrainian public broadcaster Hromadske and Ukrainska Pravda, the Maria Zankovetska Theatre in Lviv suspended all performances of Bullets over Broadway, a musical based on Allen’s screenplay. The Olha Kobylianska Academic Regional Ukrainian Music and Drama Theatre in Chernivtsi cancelled its production of A Midsummer Night’s Ex-Comedy, or How Foolish the Whole Human Race Is, and Kyiv’s Molodyy Theatre suspended performances of Riverside Drive, another Allen play. In a statement, one theatre declared, “We condemn the participation of the American director Woody Allen in Moscow International Film Week. Culture cannot serve as a cover for crimes.”
The backlash highlights the broader tension between cultural exchange and political realities in the midst of war. Allen, for his part, responded to the criticism in a statement to the Associated Press on August 26, 2025. He made his position on the conflict clear: “When it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, I believe strongly that Vladimir Putin is totally in the wrong. The war he has caused is appalling. But, whatever politicians have done, I don’t feel cutting off artistic conversations is ever a good way to help.”
Allen’s remarks attempted to strike a balance between denouncing Russia’s invasion and defending the value of cultural dialogue. “The war he has caused is appalling,” Allen repeated, but insisted that “cutting off artistic conversations is ever a good way to help.” This nuanced position, however, did little to mollify Ukrainian officials or the country’s artistic community, who argue that participation in Russian cultural events at this time lends legitimacy to a regime accused of ongoing atrocities.
The controversy comes against a backdrop of Hollywood’s broad support for Ukraine. As noted by NBC News and the Associated Press, many prominent actors have joined the United24 crowdfunding initiative, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made virtual appearances at major Western awards ceremonies, including the Golden Globes and the Grammys. The Moscow International Film Week, which first launched in August 2024, is separate from the older Moscow International Film Festival, which lost its accreditation from the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This year’s Moscow International Film Week billed Allen as one of its headliners, alongside Serbian film director Emir Kusturica—an open supporter of Putin who has received awards from the Russian president and attended a military parade in Moscow earlier this year—and American actor Mark Dacascos. The festival, which runs through August 27, 2025, has become a platform for pro-Kremlin voices, further fueling Ukrainian concerns about its role as a propaganda tool.
Allen’s affinity for Russian culture is well documented. His 1975 comedy Love and Death satirizes the works of Tolstoy and other 19th-century Russian novelists, while the title of his 1989 film Crimes and Misdemeanors echoes Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. In a 1972 essay, Allen joked about the Russian Revolution, and he has often referenced Russian literature and cinema throughout his career. His latest film, Coup de Chance, premiered at the 80th Venice Film Festival in 2023, marking his 50th feature.
Despite his storied career, Allen’s popularity has waned in recent years, particularly in the wake of the MeToo movement and renewed attention to allegations of sexual abuse from his adopted stepdaughter, Dylan Farrow. In April 2024, Allen hinted at possible retirement after completing Coup de Chance, telling reporters, “I’m on the fence about it. The whole business has changed, and not in an appealing way. All the romance of filmmaking is gone.”
Allen’s appearance at Moscow International Film Week also touched on the future of cinema in the age of artificial intelligence, according to Russian media. However, it was his praise for Russian cinema and openness to making a film in Russia that drew the most attention—and ire—from Ukrainian critics. Theatres across the country have made clear that, for now, Allen’s works will not be staged on Ukrainian soil, a move intended to send a message about the role of culture in times of war.
As the debate continues, Allen’s case has become a flashpoint in the larger discussion about the responsibilities of artists in a world marked by conflict and division. Whether cultural dialogue can—or should—transcend political boundaries remains an open question, but for many in Ukraine, the answer is clear: some lines, once crossed, cannot be ignored.
