From March 1 to March 8, the Artdocfest International Film Festival will take place in Riga, Latvia, featuring a program with the slogan “Long Live Belarus!”. Four Belarusian documentaries will be screened on March 2 and 3. “Long Live Belarus” is a series of documentary films about Belarusians, depicting how people live in a dictatorship and continue their struggle against it.
⚪️ “The Accidental President” is a film by Mike Lerner and Martin Herring, narrating the story of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The film documents not only her daily hard work and the intricacies of meetings with world leaders but also the emotional aspect of this journey – moments of pain, joy, and inspiration.
🔴 In the documentary “Motherland” by Aleksandr Mikhalkovich and Hanna Badziaka, which has earned the CPH:DOX 2023 main prize in Copenhagen, you will see the horrifying details of how the Belarusian military treats its conscripts, including harassment, torture, and murders.
⚪️ The film “Pussy Boys” by Darya Andreyanava and Mikalai Kuprych tells the story of the Belarusian LGBT+ community trying to live in a country where their existence is denied.
🔴 “I Want to Go to War” is a war documentary by Alena Chernyavskaya, portraying Belarusians who volunteered to defend Ukraine and its independence.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “I am always amazed by how Belarusians express themselves through creativity. They compose songs, make films, write books, and create drawings. Each of them tells our contemporary history through art. It is so wonderful that Belarusian art not only inspires us but also captivates the international cultural community.
Thank you to all the art creators and everyone who has included a piece of our history and culture in their work. By creating pieces that incorporate the Belarusian identity and sharing them, you do great work in preserving our unique, distinctive culture”.
