09 Jun MOTHERLAND

Posted at 11:32h in International selection by

MOTHERLAND

Sweden, Ukraine, Norway / 2023 / 92′

 

DIRECTED BY:  Alexander Mihalkovich & Hanna Badziaka

SCREENPLAY BY: Alexander Mihalkovich & Hanna Badziaka

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Cinematography: Siarhiej Kanaplianik

EDITED BY: Katiia Vushnya; additional editors: Jakub Bastkowski, Jerzy Poniatowski

PRODUCERS:  Mario Adamson, Ashley J. Smith, Alexander Mihalkovich, Anita Norfolk

PRODUCED BY: Sisyfos Film Production

FESTIVALS & AWARDS: CPH – DOX (Winner), One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Wiesbaden goEast (FIPRESCI Prize)

 

Using personal and professional perspectives, Filmmaker Alexander Mihalkovich and Filmmaker/Journalist Hanna Badziaka underscore the causes and consequences of the decades-old “tradition” of violent bullying, torture, and murder as a means of control over Belarusian military conscripts. When young Nikita reports for compulsory military duty in 2020, he enters a generations-old tradition that hides a deadly secret in post-Soviet Belarus: dedovshchina, the practice of violent abuse and bullying that supposedly turns boys into men but which has instead created generational trauma deeply embedded in the country’s present-day culture and identity.

Alexander Mihalkovich is a Belarusian-Ukrainian director and producer. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Library Science and an MA in Film Directing at DocNomads international study program. He produces documentaries with an experimental and creative background and a clear director’s vision.

Hanna Badziaka is a filmmaker with a background in journalism. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Philology from the Belarusian State University in 2010. She began her career as a video journalist for independent online media and later worked for the only independent TV channel in Belarus.  She participated in creating several documentaries and worked as a director and scriptwriter for TV projects focused on short documentaries.