Description
One year has passed since last year’s Northern Lights Film Festival and PÖFF joint discussion on the Belarusian independent film industry. Despite Belarusian filmmakers focusing on overcoming a feeling of displacement and trauma caused by political repressions in Belarus and the war in Ukraine, they keep being resilient and productive. They were actively searching for solutions on how to survive in new circumstances, exploring different experiences in the European and world film industries to come up with something innovative and long-lasting. During this panel, Belarusian filmmakers, film festival representatives, co-founders of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy, and other film professionals will talk about how to be heard and seen when in exile, what a handful of people can do for the whole industry, and what is a healthy way of integration for Belarusian filmmakers to still keep their identity but open and expand to the world.
Organized by PÖFF and the Northern Lights Film Festival
Moderated by Davide Abbatescianni, Cineuropa.
Language of the event: English
Participants
Alexander Mihalkovich, film director
Alexander Mihalkovich is a Belarusian-Ukrainian director and producer. He graduated with a PhD in Library Science and an MA in Film Directing from the DocNomads international study program. His focus as a filmmaker is on long-term projects with which he feels a close personal connection. He produces documentaries with an experimental and creative background, beautiful cinematography, and a clear director’s vision. After creating several short documentary and experimental films, he made his debut feature film, My Granny from Mars. It had a successful theatrical release in Ukraine and has been selected at numerous international film festivals, including DOK.fest München 2019, BelDocs Belgrade 2019, Sarajevo IFF 2018 (DocuTalents Award winner), Ji.hlava IDFF 2018, and Eastern Neighbours Film Festival 2019 (as the opening night film), among many others.
Mara Tamkovich, film director
Mara Tamkovich was born in Minsk, Belarus. She studied journalism at Warsaw University, film directing at Warsaw Film School, and is a graduate of “Studio Prób” at Wajda School. Recipient of the Andrzej Wajda and Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda Kyoto-Kraków Foundation scholarship. Laureate of the “She’s Mercedes” award. Her film "Daughter" was widely recognized and awarded at numerous festivals (Listapad Minsk IFF, Belarus; FEST—New Directors | New Films Festival, Portugal; 18th One Shot International Short Film Festival, Armenia; Linz International Short Film Festival, Austria); and her newest short film "LIVE" has received a special award at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia and a Silver Hugo award at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival.
Volia Chajkouskaya, producer, film director, and founder of the Northern Lights Film Festival
Volia Chajkouskaya is a Belarus-born producer and director based in Estonia. She works for Allfilm Production Company. Volia obtained a Masters degree in directing and producing documentary films at the Baltic Film and Media School (Tallinn, Estonia). She is the founder of the Northern Lights Film Festival and the online cinema VODBLISK. Volia Chajkouskaya is also the co-founder of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy.
Igor Soukmanov, senior programmer and consultant
Igor Soukmanov is a well-known Belarusian film expert and journalist. He is a member of the European Film Academy and a President of the Belarusian section of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI). Also, he is a permanent writer for the film magazine Iskusstvo Kino (Film Art), the oldest magazine in Europe that specializes in film studies. For eleven years (2010-2020), Igor was the program director of the Listapad International Film Festival in Minsk, which in 2020 was canceled by the Belarusian authorities. Under his supervision, Listapad presented the cinema of the former USSR or countries with a common communist past in Eastern Europe, Cuba, and Asia, including China, etc. Since 2021, Soukmanov has been a member of the Program Advisory Board of the Odesa International Film Festival. He is a Senior Programmer at the Warsaw Film Festival and The goEast Film Festival in Wiesbaden.
Yuliya Samailouskikh, festival and online cinema coordinator of the Northern Lights FF and VODBLISK
Yuliya Samailouskikh is a film festival and distribution manager. She began as an assistant to the Program Director at Minsk IFF LISTAPAD in 2017 and later worked as a film distributor at ART Corporation. Currently based in Warsaw, Yuliya has worked as a coordinator at the Nordic-Baltic FF Northern Lights since 2022. In the same year, she took on the role of Delivery Manager at the Female Freedom FF. Yuliya also holds the positions of coordinator at the online cinema VODBLISK for independent Belarusian films and manager at the Belarusian Independent Film Academy.
Davide Abbatescianni, film critic and journalist at Cineuropa
Davide Abbatescianni is a film critic and journalist based in Rome. After studying film, theater, and journalism in Italy, Estonia, and Ireland, he began working as a reporter for Cineuropa in 2017. For this Brussels-based portal, he covers all the major festivals and markets and reviews new releases. Davide's bylines have appeared on outlets such as Variety, The New Arab, New Scientist, The National, Business Doc Europe, and Reader's Digest. Abbatescianni is a member of FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics), FEDEORA (Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean), ICS (International Cinephile Society), and the European Film Academy.