Anastasia Temerkhanovna Trofimova (, born February 17, 1987) is a Russian-Canadian documentary director, producer and cinematographer, most known for her work in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with films like Russians at War, Her War: Women vs. ISIS, Victims of ISIS, The Road to Raqqa, Congo, My Precious and others. Most of her films were made for RT, the Russian state-controlled documentary channel.
Fluent in English, Russian and intermediate Arabic, Trofimova earned her Bachelor's degree in Communication, Culture and Information Technology from the University of Toronto and her Master's degree in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam.
In 2024, Trofimova directed the documentary Russians at War, a film focusing on the perspectives of Russian soldiers during the Russo-Ukrainian war. The film's world premiere was held at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2024, where it received a five-minute standing ovation following its conclusion. The film premiered on September 10, 2024 at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was denounced as Russian propaganda by regional experts, Ukrainian government officials, Canadian politicians and Ukrainian-Canadians, with Trofimova being accused of whitewashing Russian war crimes by the Ukrainian consul-general in Toronto, Oleh Nikolenko. TIFF organizers defended the film as anti-war, with the public premiere delayed until September 17 due to "significant threats" against the film, according to TIFF. Trofimova denied supporting the Russian invasion, stating that she was appalled by Putin's actions, and that "You do not turn to war to resolve whatever geopolitical issues, problems or grievances you have..." and denied personally witnessing any war crimes by Russian soldiers. She was also criticized by the Ukrainian Embassy in the Netherlands and Ukrainian publications for not attaining Ukrainian permission to enter Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. Trofimova stated that she lacked access to the Ukrainian side due to her nationality and former association with RT.
As a result of directing the film, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications included Trofimova in its list of people posing a threat to the national security of Ukraine, and her name and contact information was added to the Myrotvorets "hit list of Ukrainian enemies". In October 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal case against Trofimova, launching a pre-trial investigation under Art. 436.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on "justification, recognition as lawful, denial of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, glorification of its participants" and its dissemination.
Trofimova is the winner of the Canada Screen Award for âÂÂBest Researchâ for HBO's âÂÂTales from the Organ TradeâÂÂ. She has been nominated for the Canada Screen Award for âÂÂBest Visual Researchâ for Adobe Productions International/White Pine's âÂÂIce-Breaker: the âÂÂ72 Summit SeriesâÂÂ. She is a five-time returning judge for the News and Documentary Emmy Awards.