Premiere Date: August 12, 2008
Synopsis
Belarus has been called "Europe's last dictatorship." Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the ex-Soviet republic with a despotic hand, jailing the opposition, shutting down the press and refusing to investigate the assassinations of dissidents. He has virtually silenced his critics — but not one lone performance artist who stages public stunts mocking the dictator's pretensions. Belarusian Waltz is the story of Alexander Pushkin, whose audacious, comical exploits find him facing the hostility of the police and the consternation of his family. An offbeat tale of post-modern street theater meeting 1930s-style authoritarianism, the film offers a surprising window into the soul of the Belarusian people.
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Filmmaker
I turned on the PBS channel and was so happy to hear Belarusian language and see the scenery of my homeland! By the end of the show I felt disappointed and angry. I feel a bit embarrassed that the world will see this odd person and think all Belarusians are like that.”
— Olia Melnikava, viewer
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Critical Acclaim
Belarusian Waltz provides a glimpse into how the regime causes people to censor themselves. ”
— Meredith Greene Megaw,
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Political Art in Belarus
Looks like Alexander Pushkin is not the only artist protesting in the Bealrus. The New York Times reports:
"...Welcome to the world of the Volny Teatr, or the Belarus Free Theater, the only unregistered — and therefore independent — dramatic collective in this nation of 10 million on Europe’s edge, which President Aleksandr Lukashenko has ruled since 1994.
In this piece — a third act called “Numbers” that is part of a larger production, “Zone of Silence” — the troupe tries to bring to life, through mime, dance and metaphor, statistics that it presumes the authoritarian government would like to ignore or suppress..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/arts/23iht-beltheater.html?ref=arts
by Ruiyan Xu from New York, NY
September 24, 2009, 11:03 AM