The country’s sole independent TV channel, Belsat, is not only a cultural phenomenon in the struggle for a democratic Belarus but also plays a crucial role in Belarusian cinema.

The dedicated efforts of the Belsat team in the field of cinema have captured hundreds of aspects of Belarusian life on film. Their systematic work has provided numerous Belarusian filmmakers, including winners of prestigious international film festivals, with the opportunity to bring their film projects to life. These film works, much like Belsat’s news programming, have been instrumental in promoting democratic values in Belarus, shaping a worldview free from propaganda, and fulfilling the Belarusians’ thirst for an authentic representation of their world.

It is particularly distressing to acknowledge that the Polish state, which has provided unwavering support to Belsat as a tool of “soft power” in its foreign policy for years, has done more for Belarusian independent cinema than the Belarusian state itself. Sadly, funding for film production from Lukashenko’s Belarusian budget, with rare exceptions, is allocated exclusively to the pro-state National Film Studio, including for propaganda films aimed against Poland. 

Both the Belarusian and Russian dictatorial regimes employ a full array of tactics to immerse Belarusians in the “Russian world” and deprive them of the will to fight for their European values. Belarus is currently embroiled in a full-scale, brutal and unprincipled informational war. Moreover, currently the country is on the brink of a real war, and today, independent media and independent cinema play a crucial role in determining which civilizational side Belarus will ultimately align with.

Throughout the years of dictatorship in Belarus, Poland has remained the main partner for Belarusian filmmakers to create films for free Belarusians, keeping them in the context of democratic Europe. This support continues today through grants, co-financing and funding for film projects and events. Many Belarusian filmmakers, forced to flee the country after the mass protests in 2020, have found refuge in Poland, and for this, we are profoundly grateful.

Such gestures from the Polish state, as years of support for Belsat, unite proponents of a democratic Belarus into a formidable force, help Belarusians endure “the darkest hours before the dawn”, and deliver significant blows against the efforts of Lukashenko’s dictatorship to sway people to his side.

In light of recent concerns about the future of Belsat, we, the members of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy, stand in solidarity with the channel and call on the Polish authorities to preserve its independence. We believe that Belsat can only function effectively and be the voice of free Belarusians if it remains an independent entity. Since the announcement of Belsat’s merger with TVP World, it has become increasingly clear that Belarusian independent journalism and cinema have no future within this new structure. 

We are deeply concerned about the future of the informational landscape in Belarus and the Eastern European region without Belsat and its projects. In the face of intensifying Belarusian and Russian propaganda, weakening or, even more so, losing Belsat would be a grave mistake. Amid the ongoing inhumane repression in Belarus and the wide-scale information war waged by dictators against the West, losing Belsat to the Lukashenko regime could be catastrophic.

The Belarusian Independent Film Academy believes in the transformative power of truth and art. Belsat has consistently promoted these values, keeping Belarusians connected to democratic Europe.

May truth and cinema always prevail! In Belarus, they need Belsat.