Filmmakers Launch Belarusian Film Academy to Give a Voice to Threatened Artists in Repressive Putin Ally

variety.com:

Christopher Vourlias Belarusian filmmakers and industry professionals gathered in Berlin on Friday to announce the launch of the Belarusian Film Academy (BIFA), an organization formed to give a platform to independent filmmakers in the repressive former Soviet republic and staunch Kremlin ally.

Born in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when more than 130 Belarusian filmmakers signed a collective statement condemning the unprovoked act of aggression, the academy was created to “solidify, unite and support” their voices, according to co-founder Volia Chajkouskaya. “Living under state censorship and control, we have been searching for ways to unite for a long time,” said Chajkouskaya, a producer, director and founder of the Northern Lights Film Festival. “Since [the start of the Ukraine war], we all continued to face challenges individually and felt that we should unite in solidarity to form a unified front.” The Belarusian Film Academy’s founding members are Chajkouskaya; director Aliaksei Paluyan, whose 2021 documentary “Courage” (pictured) played in Berlin; Darya Zhuk, whose 2019 feature “Crystal Swan” was the first ever Belarusian submission for the Academy Awards’ international feature race; documentary filmmaker Andrei Kutsila, whose “When Flowers Are Not Silent” opened the Jihlava Intl.

Documentary Film Festival in 2021; film critic Irena Kaciałovič; and senior programmer and consultant Igor Soukmanov. Chajkouskaya described how Belarusian filmmakers face a hostile environment under repressive strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who has led the country since 1994 and was reelected in 2020 with 80% of the vote in an election that was widely viewed as rigged.