Dir. Nicolai Khalezin, Natalia Kaliada, Andrew Smith | United Kingdom | 2020 | 83 min. | Documentary

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The film "Alone" by Belarus Free Theatre explores the existential pain of Ukraine through the eyes of an unexpected protagonist, one of the country's most commercially successful stars of the Ukrainian show business.

Andriy Khlyvnyuk, lead singer of the hip-hop rock band Boombox, has millions of devoted young fans who adore him as a singer-songwriter and sex symbol but know nothing of his personal turmoil caused by the political instability and military aggression in his homeland. Andriy is on a mission to raise awareness and motivate his fans to join him in taking a stand against the war in the east of Ukraine and calls for the release of Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker and political prisoner in Russia. As tensions between Ukraine and Russia become a footnote on the world's media agenda, Andriy uses his fame to refocus the global spotlight on the fragile independence Ukraine is fighting for.

One of the plot lines comprises Andriy watching Belarus Free Theatre's performance and contemplating on Belarus and the possibility of protest art. How does one's relationships with fans change when there is a political split between them?

Original language: Russian, Ukrainian, English
Subtitles: English

What has to happen for art to become a platform for political expression? The journey of Andriy Khlyvnyuk, the front-man of the Ukrainian music band Boombox, to political consciousness — as seen through the eyes of Belarus Free Theatre

The films in competition will be viewed by an international jury