In 2024, our cinema turned 100 years old: on December 17, 1924, the Belgoskino film studio was founded.
Belarusian Independent Film Academy (BIFA) conducted a poll on the best Belarusian films of all time, inviting 49 experts: directors, film scholars, film critics, curators and others. Here are the 50 films that received the most mentions in individual lists.
A teenage villager joins a partisan unit and finds himself in the hell of war.
Hypercinema as an embodiment of hyperliterature, discovered and recorded by Belarusian authors — anonymous film critic, film scholar and cultural scholar
Moscow International Film Festival |
Golden Prize and FIPRESCI Award, 1985
Venice International Film Festival |
special screening, 1985; Best Restored Film Award, 2017.
Belarusfilm, Mosfilm – USSR
Come and See
Elem Klimov, 1985
1
A Red Army soldier forces a young man to join the partisans. A Belarusian peasant woman nurses a German soldier. A partisan gains the trust of an anti-communist’s small son.
A subversion of the Soviet cliche of the ‘partisan republic’ in the form of a grotesque depiction of the `partisan land` — anonymous art scholar
International Film Festival Rotterdam |
out-of-competition program, 2004
Moscow International Film Festival |
Perspectives program, 2004
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival |
East of the West competition program, 2005
Watch:
YouTube
Navigator Studio – Belarus.
Mysterium Occupation
Andrey Kudinenko, 2004
2
An ethnographer lodges at a Polesie manor, whose landlady believes in the evil ghost of an uprising leader.
A compelling and highly atmospheric adaptation that isn’t afraid to differ from Uladzimir Karatkievich’s famous novel — Taras Tarnalitsky, journalist
Montreal International Film Festival |
Jury Prize, 1980
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
The Savage Hunt of King Stakh
Valeri Rubinchik, 1980
3
On an assignment from the partisans, a youth goes to the village mechanic to get explosives.
This film is probably the most important one for me. It’s not even about the war but about the unique trait of a Belarusian to remain a friend only to oneself, when the West and the East constantly interfere with their life — Artem Lobach, director
Vienna International Film Festival |
retrospective program, 2019
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
Across the Cemetery
Viktor Turov, 1965
4
A living wooden boy refuses to go to school and falls victim to a sadistic puppeteer and a gang of animal crooks.
An anti-totalitarian fairy tale about how to become human—a true magic lantern — Maxim Bujnicki, director
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
The Adventures of Buratino
Leonid Nechaev, 1976
5
The Nazis try to split the arrested underground fighters by casting suspicion of betrayal on one of them.
A labyrinthine partisan gothic—sharp, piercing, and jittery — anonymous film critic, film scholar and cultural scholar
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
The Eastern Corridor
Valentin Vinogradov, 1967
6
A hooligan gang from a railway worker’s settlement chases urban hippies, metalheads, and neo-Nazis.
There haven’t been such times of freedom in Belarus since. Several generations have passed, but, just like the film’s protagonist, haven’t been able to formulate their life principles — Maxim Bujnicki, director
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
My Name Is Arlekino
Valeri Rybarev, 1988
7
A former teacher, handing out flyers for a living, buys a lottery ticket, hoping to get from Mazyr to the Maldives.
The tenderness and poetry of the Belarusian everyday — Mikhal Sandyga, film critic
Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad” |
Best Feature Film in the National Competition, 2017
FIDMarseille |
First Film Prize, Renaud Victor Prize, Special Mention in the International Competition, Special Mention for Marseille Espérance Prize, 2018
Watch:
DaFilms
Yulia Shatun – Belarus.
Tomorrow
Yulia Shatun, 2017
8-9
A regular gopnik accidentally gets into the inner circles of the Belarusian opposition.
Anarchistic subversive satire of the Belarusian regime and the liberal opposition — Aleksei Borisionok, curator
Watch:
Vimeo
Navinki Home Video – Belarus.
The Kid’s Case
Sergei Loban, 2001
8-9
The citizens of the once-free City of Masters rise up against the tyrant duke.
The harmony of fairy-tale storytelling and stylized visual design — Yevgeny Margolit, film scholar
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
The City of Masters
Vladimir Bychkov, 1966
10-15
A Minsk DJ has to spend a week in a small town in order to get a U.S. visa.
A cheerful coming-of-age hipster comedy that consciously plays with all possible post-Soviet clichés. The Olivier-salad-in-the-kitchen montage, set to the 1990s house music, is an ironic spectacle of rhythm and color — Heleen Gerritsen, goEast film festival director
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival |
East of the West competition, 2018
Odesa International Film Festival |
Grand Prix “Golden Duke,” 2018
London Film Festival |
out-of-competition program, 2018
Demarsh Films, Turnstyle TV, Unfound Content, Fusion Features, Vice Media, Inspiration Films, Crystal Goose – Belarus, Germany, USA, Russia.
Crystal Swan
Darya Zhuk, 2018
10-15
The Nioman river erodes the village as its inhabitants struggle with unruly cows.
Pure poetry of the outskirts — Maxim Zhbankov, media activist and cultural analyst
"Message to Man” International Film Festival in St. Petersburg |
Best Short Documentary Award, 2002
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival |
Documentary Competition, 2002
Krakow Film Festival |
Short Documentary Competition, 2003
Nomination for Best Short Film at the European Film Awards |
2003
Watch:
YouTube
Letapis Studio, Belarusfilm – Belarus.
We Are Living on the Edge
Victor Asliuk, 2002
10-15
A communist grandfather and his stripper grandson live in the same apartment where they argue about life and the country.
A touching tale of coexisting contrasts, about how the past captures the future, and how the present is torn with dreams brutally clashing against reality — anonymous art scholar
goEast International Film Festival in Wiesbaden |
FIPRESCI Award, 2019
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival |
out-of-competition program, 2019
Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad” |
Special Jury Prize in the Documentary Competition, 2019
Watch:
YouTube
Studio Sonica for Belsat – Belarus, Poland.
Strip and War
Andrei Kutsila, 2019
10-15
Zahar Kudin transfers accidental communal services art from building walls onto canvas. Passersby ask him questions.
A portrait of an artist that became a portrait of the country — Mikhal Sandyga, film critic
Krakow Film Festival |
Polish Documentary Film Competition, 2019
Riga International Film Festival/Artdocfest |
Best Director Award, 2019
Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad” |
Special Diploma from the Guild of Film Scholars and Critics of the Belarusian Union of Cinematographers, 2019
Winner of the Belarusian Film Critics Award “Red Heather” for Best Documentary Feature Film |
2022
Watch:
Vodblisk
DI Factory, TVP, Square Film Studio, Volia Films – Belarus, Poland.
Pure Art
Maksim Shved, 2019
10-15
High schoolers from a war-torn city celebrate the victory and make humble plans for the future.
A magnificent and melancholic masterpiece of world-class modernist cinema about the quiet happiness of new life after the apocalypse — Nikita Lavretski, director
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
I Come from My Childhood
Viktor Turov, 1966
10-15
Brothers from a village set for demolition feud over future city real estate, as well as the wife of one of them.
It highlights the problems of urbanization and disconnection from roots through complex life experiences and love stories — Andrei Karalevich, producer
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
White Dew
Igor Dobrolyubov, 1984
16-17
An elderly rural couple endures the abuse of the Germans and their collaborators, as they recall the pre-war abuse by the communists.
Mikhail Ptashuk is like Ridley Scott: you may not like what he directs, but it’s impossible to deny that he’s a great director — Alena Soika, journalist
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
Ill Omen
Mikhail Ptashuk, 1987
16-17
An activist mother investigates her son’s suspicious death in the military. Young clubbers try to avoid the draft.
A powerful study of the militaristic deadlock in which Belarusian society is stuck — Aliaksei Paluyan, director and screenwriter
CPH:DOX Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival |
Best Film in the International Competition, 2023
Krakow Film Festival |
Audience Award, 2023
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam |
out-of-competition program, 2023
Nomination for Best Documentary at the European Film Awards |
2023
Folk Film, Sisyfos Film Production, Voka Films – Sweden, Norway, Ukraine.
Motherland
Hanna Badziaka & Alexander Mihalkovich, 2023
18
At their first Tinder date, a guy and a girl, married in real life, talk shit about their “exes.”
A film that’s part stand-up, part podcast, part dilemma — Aliaksandr Shuster, journalist
Doclisboa International Film Festival |
Best Film in the International Competition, 2023
Winner of the Belarusian Film Critics Award “Red Heather” for Best Fiction Feature Film |
2024
Watch:
YouTube
Nikita Lavretski – Belarus.
A Date in Minsk
Nikita Lavretski, 2022
19-20
A nurse, a telephonist, a partisan, and other women share their stories of cruelty, love, and routine in wartime.
The best Belarusian television series from the titan of documentary cinema [Viktar Dashuk] and the Nobel laureate [Svetlana Alexievich] — Maksim Shved, director
DOK Leipzig International Festival for Documentary and Animated Film |
“Silver Dove,” 1983
Watch:
YouTube
Letapis Studio, Belarusfilm – USSR
The Unwomanly Face of War
Viktar Dashuk, 1981–1984
19-20
A high schooler supports her seemingly pregnant friend and a bullied friend, but soon she herself will need even more support.
A vital film with people full of love — Andrei Kashperski, director
Warsaw International Film Festival |
Jury Special Mention, Free Spirit competition, 2019
Minsk International Film Festival "Listapad" |
special screening, 2019
Göteborg Film Festival |
out-of-competition program, 2020
Winner of the Belarusian Film Critics Award “Red Heather” for Best Fiction Feature |
2022
Watch:
Vodblisk
ART Corporation – Belarus.
II
Vlada Senkova, 2019
21-26
A Belarusian man and an Italian woman escape German captivity and fall in love against the Alpine backdrop.
Moscow International Film Festival |
retrospective program, 2020
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
Alpine Ballad
Boris Stepanov, 1966
21-26
An incel aesthete invites unsuspecting girls to his dacha to lose his virginity.
A very hipster film that captures the era of ‘nepo babies’ well. Yes, fashion in Belarus is unique, and our hipsters are unlike others — Tanya Svirepa, director
Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad” |
Best Feature Film in the National Competition, 2015
goEast International Film Festival in Wiesbaden |
special screening, 2016
Watch:
YouTube
Nikita Lavretski – Belarus.
Belarusian Psycho
Nikita Lavretski, 2015
21-26
A poor boy and a wealthy peasant’s son vie for a girl’s attention in a Polesian village set for Soviet land redistribution.
When they were filming this movie, I wasn’t born yet. And when I arrived in Belarusian Polesie, I felt like I was in a living museum. For me, this film isn’t about the script or dramaturgy. I watch it as a documentary; it’s about what’s in between — Artem Lobach, director
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival |
Best Ensemble Cast Award, 1982
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
People on the Swamp
Viktor Turov, 1982
21-26
A ghost in a white mask and red dress silently watches the march of the Belarusian rebellion.
One of the most touching and poetic documentary essays on the Belarusian rebellion of 2020 — Aleksei Borisionok, curator
International Film Festival Rotterdam |
press and industry screenings, 2022
Artdocfest International Film Festival in Riga |
Special Jury Mention, 2022
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival |
out-of-competition program “Flowers are not silent. Resistance films of Belarus,” 2022. Winner of the Belarusian Film Critics
Award “Red Heather” for Best Documentary Feature |
2024
Les Steppes Productions – France, UK.
Mara
Sasha Kulak, 2022
21-26
A young orphan and her widow neighbor, left destitute, turn to sex work.
It was a revelation to me that something like this could be filmed in Belarus, a country that was under strict censorship for most of its existence — Tanya Svirepa, director
Watch:
Internet Archive
Belgoskino – USSR.
The Prostitute
Oleg Frelikh, 1927
21-26
A dreamy teenager escapes from a music school to the frontline of the almost-ended war.
An impressive blend of tragedy, lyricism, and realism — anonymous director
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
A Wreath of Sonnets
Valeri Rubinchik, 1977
27-32
Incarcerated women are rehearsing a play about psychiatric hospital patients as part of a social project.
A documentary from the Homyel prison, in which the author broke through seemingly impenetrable walls to show the world inside through a very touching and human lens — Mara Tamkovich, director and screenwriter
IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam |
First Appearance Competition, 2017
Krakow Film Festival |
Special Jury Mention, 2018
Winner of the 1st National Film Awards of Belarus for Best Non-Fiction Film |
2018
PervajaKinoVideo Company – Belarus.
Debut
Anastasiya Miroshnichenko, 2017
27-32
Four partisans head to carry out a pointless order to blow up a useless village bridge.
An adaptation of Vasil Bykaŭ’s novella, in which the official partisan myth is deconstructed once and for all — anonymous cultural scholar
Watch:
YouTube
Yuri Tarich Studio, Belarusfilm – USSR
The Kruhlanski Bridge
Aleksandr Moroz, 1989
27-32
The national poet mysteriously dies, crashing onto the granite floor of the Moskva hotel. The explanation lies in his entire biography and creative journey.
The most phenomenal leak of a film in our part of the world. The leak happened at the perfect moment and turned the film into a distinctive social phenomenon that resonated with the zeitgeist — Antos Sivyh, artist, inventor and filmmaker
Belarusfilm – Belarus.
Kupala
Vladimir Yankovskiy, 2020
27-32
An orphaned boy unlocks terrifying memories from the “kinderheim” concentration camp upon attending a trial of collaborators.
Belarusfilm – USSR
The Witness
Valeri Rybarev, 1986
27-32
Actors from an underground theater take part in peaceful protests before contemplating emigration.
A very touching portrait of the mass protests against Lukashenko’s election fraud in 2020. I still can’t understand how the cinematographers managed to capture such aesthetic images in the middle of turmoil — Heleen Gerritsen, goEast film festival director
Berlin International Film Festival |
Berlinale Special program, 2021
CPH:DOX Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival |
out-of-competition program, 2021
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam |
out-of-competition program, 2021
Winner of the Belarusian Film Critics Award “Red Heather” for Best Documentary Feature |
2024
Living Pictures Production – Germany.
Courage
Aliaksei Paluyan, 2021
27-32
33–50:
On the last day of school break, a boy scrolls through memes, strolls along Kastrychnitskaya, and discusses stand-up comedy with friends.
I had a day just like that — Andrei Kashperski, director
Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad” |
National Competition, 2019
Film Festival Cottbus |
out-of-competition program, 2020
Nikita Alexandrov & Yulia Shatun – Belarus.
The Last Day of This Summer
Nikita Alexandrov & Yulia Shatun, 2019
After meeting with feminists in Berlin, Belarusian women filmmakers talk to ordinary working women across the former USSR.
A devastating portrait of the Soviet Union in collapse, from a feminist point of view. Raw, horrifying, powerful. One of the most important films to come out of the so-called ‘Post-Soviet’ region — Heleen Gerritsen, goEast film festival director
Berlin International Film Festival |
Panorama program, 1993
goEast International Film Festival in Wiesbaden |
retrospective program, 2022
Watch:
YouTube
Animatsionnyy Belorusskiy Tsentr, Bremer Institut Film & Fernsehen – Belarus, Germany.
Orange Vests
Yuriy Khashchevatskiy, 1993
A group of archaeologists, led by future politician Zianon Pazniak, discover a mass grave in a forest near Minsk.
This is how I imagine a classic Belarusian documentary: deeply important for the world and crucial for understanding why we Belarusians are the way we are; tragic, with legendary protagonists. And also one that most people haven’t seen and won’t watch — Maksim Shved, director
State Prize of the Republic of Belarus named after Kastus Kalinowski |
shared with Mikhail Zhdanovsky’s films Larks of Belarus and Memoirs of Mikola Ravienski, 1994
Letapis Studio, Belarusfilm – USSR
The Road to Kurapaty
Mikhail Zhdanovsky, 1990
Villager Ivan comes to Minsk to claim an inheritance from his wealthy uncle but ends up getting scammed.
I choose this film for its eclectic mix: agro-trash, krambambulia, Valadarka prison, paparazzi and groupies, airports and a global conspiracy — Antos Sivyh, artist, inventor and filmmaker
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – Belarus.
Dastish Fantastish
Aleksandr Kananovich, 2010
The first president of Belarus reveals his absurd views and sinister ambitions with his own lips.
Berlin International Film Festival |
Forum program, 1997
Watch:
YouTube
Pyotr Marzev, KinoVideoCompany Alana Korona – Belarus, Russia.
An Ordinary President
Yuriy Khashchevatskiy, 1997
A young poet, traumatized by his mother’s suicide, returns to his hometown and reconnects with his first love.
A very important film made shortly after Belarus gained independence, about the fate of a provincial poet, common for all Belarusian artists — Maxim Bujnicki, director
State Prize of the Republic of Belarus in Literature, Arts, and Architecture |
1996
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – Belarus.
Flowers of the Provinces
Dmitriy Zaytsev, 1994
A village buried under snow comes to life with the birth of a child in a young family.
My favourite film among those made by my teacher — Maksim Shved, director
Krakow Film Festival |
Short Documentary Competition, 2003
DOK Leipzig International Festival for Documentary and Animated Film |
Special Mention in the Short Film Competition, Special Mention by the Ecumenical Jury, 2003
Cinéma du Réel International Documentary Festival |
Best Short Film Award, 2004
Letapis Studio, Belarusfilm – Belarus.
The Wheel
Victor Asliuk, 2003
A timid supermarket guard faces a fateful confrontation with a confident gopnik.
Sad Belarusian humour as it is. I can easily imagine such a story actually happening somewhere in Serabranka — Tanya Svirepa, director
Watch:
YouTube
Yuri Semashko – Belarus, Poland.
Blood and Karaoke
Yuri Semashko, 2023
A future Belarusian director mocks his younger brother, fights with classmates, and freaks out on his first amateur shoots.
Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad” |
National Competition, 2020 – festival canceled
Artdocfest International Film Festival |
out-of-competition program, 2020)
Watch:
YouTube
Nikita Lavretski – Belarus.
Nikita Lavretski
Nikita Lavretski, 2019
The last uncaptured participants of an anti-Soviet uprising attempt mass suicide in a forest to protect their loved ones.
A feeling of despair, claustrophobia, and confinement – not only in the endless Belarusian forest but also in history — Antos Sivyh, artist, inventor and filmmaker
Belarusfilm – Belarus.
On Black Slash-and-Burn Fields
Valery Ponomaryov, 1995
A former camp guard accidentally meets a former prisoner on vacation and begins reevaluating everything.
The film hasn’t lost its relevance and seems unlikely to for a long time. According to one of the characters, our armored train hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s waiting on a side track. Its dark silhouette will continue to stand there, in our history, until the symbolic act of condemning the former torturers happens — anonymous film festival director
Watch:
YouTube
Yuri Tarich Studio, Belarusfilm – USSR
Our Armoured Train
Mikhail Ptashuk, 1989
A riot policeman is forced to keep a prisoner at his home. Schoolchildren go on a tour of the KGB. Bureaucrats share a collective prophetic dream. A mother searches for her soldier son, who supposedly never existed.
Funny and tragic — Andrei Palupanau, director, producer and coach
Fantastic Fest in Austin |
Special Jury Mention in the Fantastic Shorts Competition for the episode “Fostering”, 2023
goEast International Film Festival in Wiesbaden |
International Competition, 2024
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival |
out-of-competition program “In Action: Belarusian Opposition”, 2024
Watch:
YouTube
Belsat – Poland.
Processes
Andrei Kashperski, 2022–2023
The husband doesn’t know what to do when his journalist wife is sentenced to a long prison term for streaming from a peaceful protest.
Tribeca Film Festival |
International Competition, 2024
International Film Festival of India |
International Competition, 2024
Torino Film Festival |
International Competition, 2024
Media Corporation – Poland.
Under the Grey Sky
Mara Tamkovich, 2024
To her husband’s displeasure, a young Belarusian artist forms a deep friendship with an older Polish painter.
A philosophical contemplation filled with acceptance of the inevitability of death, yet full of desire to live — Natallia Vavilonsakaya, journalist and cultural projects manager
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam |
Best Mid-Length Documentary Award, 2018
Krakow Film Festival |
Silver Hobby-Horse for Best Documentary Direction in the National Competition, 2019
Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad” |
Best Documentary Film in the National Competition, 2019
Film Studio Everest, Belsat – Poland.
Summa
Andrei Kutsila, 2018
A Belgian rapper and a Belarusian beatmaker put on a concert in Minsk and nearly die from cringe. Or maybe they do die.
Moscow International Film Festival |
out-of-competition program, 2019
Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad” |
National Competition, 2019
Watch:
YouTube
Nikita Lavretski, Volha Kavaliova – Belarus.
Sasha’s Hell
Nikita Lavretski, 2019
Unpunished by the Germans without explanation, the village saboteur raises suspicion among the partisans.
Cannes Film Festival |
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Film in Competition, 2012
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival |
out-of-competition program, 2012
Odesa International Film Festival |
Best Film in the International Competition, 2012
Ma.ja.de. Fiction, GP Cinema Company, Rija Films, Lemming Film, Belarusfilm – Germany, Russia, Latvia, Netherlands, Belarus.
In the Fog
Sergey Loznitsa, 2012
An English businessman, a Vietnamese actress, an African pilot, a couple of hippies, and a Soviet doctor try to survive on a plane hijacked by terrorists.
The only avant-garde anarcho-musical in Belarusian cinema — Mikhal Sandyga, film critic
Watch:
YouTube
Belarusfilm – USSR
Chronicle of the Night
Aleksei Speshnev, 1973
The mentions of the films Belarusian Proverbs, Papercutting, Once When I Served My Dear Landlord were counted together. In all these works, the traditional Belarusian paper cut-outs (vycinanka) come alive and boldly twist the meaning of the folklore they illustrate.
The folk universe in which one wants to stay — Maxim Zhbankov, media activist and cultural analyst
Animated Films Studio, Belarusfilm – Belarus.
Animated Films of Mikhail Tumelya in the Style of Vycinanka (2008–2012)
Mikhail Tumelya
