Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has removed Russian director Boris Guts’ “Deaf Lovers” from its Standing with Ukraine program after “serious backlash,” according to festival director Tiina Lokk. In a release,

The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) has refused to remove the film Deaf Lovers by Russian director Boris Guts, about a romance between a Ukrainian immigrant and a Russian, from its programme despite calls from Ukraine's State Film Agency and the Foreign Ministry.

According to PÖFF’, Guts left Russia following the outbreak of full-scale war in February 2022, and has since been living as a refugee in several European countries, currently in Serbia. He is a critic of the Russian actions against Ukraine and of the regime of Russian president Vladimir Putin, said the festival.