Andrei Kutsila

Беларусь, 2020 год. Целый народ требует свободных и справедливых выборов, но в ответ получает насилие и тюрьмы для мирных демонстрантов. Физически и психически травмированные люди пытаются жить дальше. Через судьбы обычных белорусских семей мы видим боль и надежду, чувствуем их страх и решимость.

Беларусь, 2020 год. Целый народ требует свободных и справедливых выборов, но в ответ получает насилие и тюрьмы для мирных демонстрантов. Физически и психически травмированные люди пытаются жить дальше. Через судьбы обычных белорусских семей мы видим боль и надежду, чувствуем их страх и решимость.

Беларусь, 2020 год. Целый народ требует свободных и справедливых выборов, но в ответ получает насилие и тюрьмы для мирных демонстрантов. Физически и психически травмированные люди пытаются жить дальше. Через судьбы обычных белорусских семей мы видим боль и надежду, чувствуем их страх и решимость.

Беларусь, 2020 год. Целый народ требует свободных и справедливых выборов, но в ответ получает насилие и тюрьмы для мирных демонстрантов. Физически и психически травмированные люди пытаются жить дальше. Через судьбы обычных белорусских семей мы видим боль и надежду, чувствуем их страх и решимость.

Once he wanted to be a soldier and today he is a rural doctor and a hard-working farmer. He is also a lonely guardian of the memory of this land’s Jewish inhabitants whose only reminder is an overgrown cemetery. A bucolic landscape over the Neman River preserves the traces of the deceased.

Mass protests across Belarus erupted following the widely disputed election that put President Lukashenko in office for a sixth term. Three Belarusian filmmakers document personal stories of people caught up in the political turmoil. Filmmaker Maksim Shved was arrested, imprisoned and then released while the protests around him swelled. Meanwhile, Ekaterina Markavets observes the psychological burden of her fellow citizens and worked with professional psychologists to set up a volunteer support service for people affected by current events. Andrei Kutsila followed a celebrated Belarusian broadcast journalist who worked for State TV for nearly 40 years, now in hospital recovering from injuries she sustained while at a protest. All three filmmakers wonder what the future holds for their country and fellow citizens.

On the night of August 13-14, the authorities started a mass release of protesters against rigged presidential elections from prisons on Akrestsina street in Minsk and Zhodzina. All these days hundreds of relatives waited, and some continue to wait under the walls of the detention facility for their children, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, parents and friends. Detainees come out of prisons and tell about the violence and abuse which they experienced. Information about this is instantly spread on the Internet. People already know the truth. Film director Andrey Kutsila will depict not the stories of torture victims themselves, but their relatives. Under the walls of the prison on Akrestsina street, they are in some emotional state of uncertainty, confusion and hope. The camera will “pick up” individual faces from the crowd and supposedly overhear conversations of Belarusians, filled with pain, anger and despair.

On the night of August 13-14, the authorities started a mass release of protesters against rigged presidential elections from prisons on Akrestsina street in Minsk and Zhodzina. All these days hundreds of relatives waited, and some continue to wait under the walls of the detention facility for their children, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, parents and friends. Detainees come out of prisons and tell about the violence and abuse which they experienced. Information about this is instantly spread on the Internet. People already know the truth. Film director Andrey Kutsila will depict not the stories of torture victims themselves, but their relatives. Under the walls of the prison on Akrestsina street, they are in some emotional state of uncertainty, confusion and hope. The camera will “pick up” individual faces from the crowd and supposedly overhear conversations of Belarusians, filled with pain, anger and despair.

Пожилая женщина, живущая в глухой белорусской деревне, на закате жизни листает истрепанные тетради дочери. Вместе мы отправимся в путешествие в неизведанный мир брошенного и забытого всеми человека.

Пожилая женщина, живущая в глухой белорусской деревне, на закате жизни листает истрепанные тетради дочери. Вместе мы отправимся в путешествие в неизведанный мир брошенного и забытого всеми человека.

Пожилая женщина, живущая в глухой белорусской деревне, на закате жизни листает истрепанные тетради дочери. Вместе мы отправимся в путешествие в неизведанный мир брошенного и забытого всеми человека.

Пожилая женщина, живущая в глухой белорусской деревне, на закате жизни листает истрепанные тетради дочери. Вместе мы отправимся в путешествие в неизведанный мир брошенного и забытого всеми человека.

Пожилая женщина, живущая в глухой белорусской деревне, на закате жизни листает истрепанные тетради дочери. Вместе мы отправимся в путешествие в неизведанный мир брошенного и забытого всеми человека.

Небольшая семья, состоящая из дедушки, который возглавляет ветеранскую организацию и пишет патриотические статьи, и его внука, который бросил свою карьеру инженера, чтобы стать стриптизером и мечтать о своем собственном эротическом театре. Это не просто история об отношениях, а скорее отражение разрыва между поколениями и всей постсоветской Беларуси.

Небольшая семья, состоящая из дедушки, который возглавляет ветеранскую организацию и пишет патриотические статьи, и его внука, который бросил свою карьеру инженера, чтобы стать стриптизером и мечтать о своем собственном эротическом театре. Это не просто история об отношениях, а скорее отражение разрыва между поколениями и всей постсоветской Беларуси.

Небольшая семья, состоящая из дедушки, который возглавляет ветеранскую организацию и пишет патриотические статьи, и его внука, который бросил свою карьеру инженера, чтобы стать стриптизером и мечтать о своем собственном эротическом театре. Это не просто история об отношениях, а скорее отражение разрыва между поколениями и всей постсоветской Беларуси.

Небольшая семья, состоящая из дедушки, который возглавляет ветеранскую организацию и пишет патриотические статьи, и его внука, который бросил свою карьеру инженера, чтобы стать стриптизером и мечтать о своем собственном эротическом театре. Это не просто история об отношениях, а скорее отражение разрыва между поколениями и всей постсоветской Беларуси.

A young Belarusian artist leaves her husband behind in Minsk to visit her friend, the elderly painter Andrzej Strumillo, in his idyllic manor house in Poland. It’s a fairy-tale place, surrounded by marshland and a river. There are horses, for which the two artists share a passion, as well as dogs. It has been two years since her last visit. For her, the trip offers a welcome diversion from city life; for him, it’s a break from a lonely existence marked by old age: a curved spine, painful knees. “It’s sad life’s so short,” he says.

A young Belarusian artist leaves her husband behind in Minsk to visit her friend, the elderly painter Andrzej Strumillo, in his idyllic manor house in Poland. It’s a fairy-tale place, surrounded by marshland and a river. There are horses, for which the two artists share a passion, as well as dogs. It has been two years since her last visit. For her, the trip offers a welcome diversion from city life; for him, it’s a break from a lonely existence marked by old age: a curved spine, painful knees. “It’s sad life’s so short,” he says.

Белорусский видеоблогер и молодой фермер Семён, будучи человеком православным и глубоко верующим, всегда любил философствовать о бытии, восхищаться матушкой-природой и делиться этим со всем миром. Уже пять лет он с женой живет в деревне, где растит двух маленьких сыновей и разводит овец. Казалось бы, гармоничному существованию в глуши ничего не может помешать…

Белорусский видеоблогер и молодой фермер Семён, будучи человеком православным и глубоко верующим, всегда любил философствовать о бытии, восхищаться матушкой-природой и делиться этим со всем миром. Уже пять лет он с женой живет в деревне, где растит двух маленьких сыновей и разводит овец. Казалось бы, гармоничному существованию в глуши ничего не может помешать…

Белорусский видеоблогер и молодой фермер Семён, будучи человеком православным и глубоко верующим, всегда любил философствовать о бытии, восхищаться матушкой-природой и делиться этим со всем миром. Уже пять лет он с женой живет в деревне, где растит двух маленьких сыновей и разводит овец. Казалось бы, гармоничному существованию в глуши ничего не может помешать…

The Belorussian Soviet Republic got their independence 25 years ago. The sovereign state is now home to a generation aged 25 – the same age as Belarus. People call 25 the "quiet crisis age"…

The Belorussian Soviet Republic got their independence 25 years ago. The sovereign state is now home to a generation aged 25 – the same age as Belarus. People call 25 the "quiet crisis age"…

The Belorussian Soviet Republic got their independence 25 years ago. The sovereign state is now home to a generation aged 25 – the same age as Belarus. People call 25 the "quiet crisis age"…

The Belorussian Soviet Republic got their independence 25 years ago. The sovereign state is now home to a generation aged 25 – the same age as Belarus. People call 25 the "quiet crisis age"…

Can one tear oneself from hearth and home, even if it is very boring and lonely there? Andrei, a small man in a small place, has spent 15 years of his life working in a community club. But today the large hall is empty; from time to time children come in here to sing. Meanwhile real Belarusian culture with its authentic singing conceals itself far from the state institution in a small local country house. Every now and then Andrei calls on here. Nevertheless he tries hard to revive virtually dead cultural center, his only place and reason for existence.

Can one tear oneself from hearth and home, even if it is very boring and lonely there? Andrei, a small man in a small place, has spent 15 years of his life working in a community club. But today the large hall is empty; from time to time children come in here to sing. Meanwhile real Belarusian culture with its authentic singing conceals itself far from the state institution in a small local country house. Every now and then Andrei calls on here. Nevertheless he tries hard to revive virtually dead cultural center, his only place and reason for existence.

Aliaksiej Ščadroŭ used to work as a paramedic in an ambulance emergency service in Belarus. His ambulance was often called to collect homeless people from the streets, but after a few kilometres the crew would throw them away. Once in prison, Aliaksiej found himself unwanted too. The time behind bars changed the former paramedic’s outlook on life. Following his release, Aliaksiej led a vagrant’s life and lived in church buildings. After that he settled in the Aliaksandraŭka village where he organised unofficial asylum —he started to admit poor, disabled people, take care of them, help them obtain reissued passports, and enable them to return to a normal way of life. Unfortunately, the local authorities have not been appreciative of Aliaksiej’s initiative...

"Love in Belarus" is love through the prison bars for Nasta Palazhanka and Dzmitry Dashkevich . They met in the "Young Front" - illegal Democratic organization. After protests in December 2010, they were put in prison. After detention in a KGB pretrial center Nasta was sentenced to a year of probation, and Dmitry was thrown in jail almost for three years. During his detention Dzmitry’s mom died, and Nastya remained the sole support for his father. The young couple married in prison, and on August 28, 2013 the leader of the "Young Front " was released. The lovers wrote thousands of letters to each other from behind the bars. These letters tell us about the feelings of young Belarusians, who fell in love in the time of the dictatorship.

Minsk. December 19th 2010. After the Belarus government blatantly hijacked the results of the presidential election, tens of thousands of Belarusians came to the streets in a peaceful protest. Tired of a ubiquitous system of lies, these demonstrators set their sights on truth and freedom.

An ordinary village in Belarusian Palessje. An old pair, Antanina and her husband Viktar, sit knee by knee in their small village hut, decorated with home-made cloths. He drinks badly and wonders “what does one live in this world for?” It is very sad and gloomy in winter, but when the spring comes, the nature revives, and so do the people and the animals. Life goes on. But why does the old woman sigh so heavily? A very colorful and realistic image of old-time people microcosm. Sometimes amusing, sometimes tragic. There is swearing, quarrelling, disagreement; and at the same time harmonious coexistence of people and nature, man and woman.

A lonely, aging photographer lives in a little town where the traces of the communist era are well-preserved. Love, loneliness, senility, sadness, tiredness, memory, reminiscences, offence… Life becomes black and white when the end is closer, when colors bleach; paper turns yellow and only in the memory faces and smiles are still bright and varied in colors.

A lonely, aging photographer lives in a little town where the traces of the communist era are well-preserved. Love, loneliness, senility, sadness, tiredness, memory, reminiscences, offence… Life becomes black and white when the end is closer, when colors bleach; paper turns yellow and only in the memory faces and smiles are still bright and varied in colors.

A lonely, aging photographer lives in a little town where the traces of the communist era are well-preserved. Love, loneliness, senility, sadness, tiredness, memory, reminiscences, offence… Life becomes black and white when the end is closer, when colors bleach; paper turns yellow and only in the memory faces and smiles are still bright and varied in colors.

A lonely, aging photographer lives in a little town where the traces of the communist era are well-preserved. Love, loneliness, senility, sadness, tiredness, memory, reminiscences, offence… Life becomes black and white when the end is closer, when colors bleach; paper turns yellow and only in the memory faces and smiles are still bright and varied in colors.