Belarusian Dream, director: Ekatarina Kibalchich, cinematography: Andrei Ushin, editing: Andrei Stvolinsky, production: LasTV, Russia, 2011, 50’
Undoubtedly, it is difficult to talk about Belarus and its repeatedly dashed hopes, but Ekaterina Kibalchich’s film avoids the tone of martyrdom and offers a convincing image of a Belarus where hope continues to flicker. The film is narrated by a young ‘everyman,’ someone ‘just like you’ who describes last year’s events, evoking a sense of empathy. His way of thinking is so similar to ours (and so different from the Belorussian regime’s mentality) we really believe that if there are more people like him, they will eventually bring about change. This film’s focal point is the presidential election of December 19, 2010, and the ensuing repression. During the campaign, the regime detained seven out of the nine opposition candidates, many of whom were severely beaten. Police also responded with beatings and detentions to a peaceful demonstration in Minsk: clubbing over 700 participants and arresting 48 people on charges of causing massive social unrest (which carries a possible sentence of 15 years in prison). The film pays homage to the wives of opposition politicians, who support their husbands paying no heed to the oftentimes serious consequences of their political choices. But hope also comes in the form of silent protest flash mobs, arranged via the internet and text messages, which evoke paroxysms from authorities cognizant of new media’s power in fomenting successful and ongoing revolutions around the world.(mn)