Support for Belarusian independent cinema is a testament to Polish-Belarusian cooperation in culture. It is also a sign of Poland’s support for building a sovereign, open and stable Belarusian state guided by democratic principles. This year’s Festival had a special meaning. It was held against the backdrop of public protests which swept Belarus after the 2020 presidential election and amid an escalating border conflict between Poland and Belarus.

The three-day event attracted both cinema lovers and all those interested in Belarus. The programme featured, among others, Andrei Kutsila’s When Flowers Are Not Silent, a film awarded at the IDFA festival in 2018. It tells the story of Belarusian women and their families who take part in the protests. Dzmitry Dziadok, one of the greatest hopes of the Belarusian New Wave, showed two short movies: Honest Look and Dima. Also presented was the film Belarus. The Beginning, which depicts Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s road into politics.

Performances by NAKA and the Free Choir were the highlight of the Festival. NAKA has for several years been the leading group of the Belarusian independent stage. It was founded by Anastasia Shpakouskaya, an actress of the National Drama Theater in Minsk. The artist performed her works in a duet with Alexey Vorsoba, one of Belarus’s most talented accordionist. The Free Choir is a cultural phenomenon born during the protests of 2020. Performing Belarusian songs and hymns, the Choir quickly fell in disfavour with the regime, which banned it and arrested some of its members. Forced to leave its country, the Choir found home in Warsaw, where it continues to perform and support the Belarusian cause.

BULBAMOVIE is the Warsaw-based Belarusian Film Festival, which was set up in 2011 after the violently suppressed protest in the wake of the 2010 election. Apart from promoting Belarusian cinematography, its goal is to support young Belarusian filmmakers, who cannot present their works in Belarus.

MFA Press Office

Photo: MFA