IDFA x De Balie: Letters From the Silenced Country

Scenes of protests being brutally suppressed and testimonies from people persecuted for political reasons paint a compelling picture of the ruthlessness with which Aleksandr Lukashenko’s dictatorial regime in Belarus suppresses dissent.

Belarus has endured daily repression for 30 years under the regime of dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko. In Letters from the Silenced Country, a man says, “Belarus is getting very quiet, it is drowning under the ice.”

Using footage of protests being suppressed, readings from letters by political prisoners to their loved ones, surveillance camera recordings, and animated images based on drawings made in prison, this film highlights the experiences of people who have endured the repression first-hand.

Many of the political prisoners were sentenced to years in prison after demonstrating in 2020 against the rigged presidential elections. Alongside their stories, we hear from a man who has gone into hiding for fear of arrest and a former investigative officer who fled to Poland and no longer wants to be part of the regime. Taken together, the testimonies offer a compelling picture of the price paid by those who resist oppression and refuse to give up imagining a life in freedom.

IDFA x De Balie
De Balie has selected six of the best films featured at IDFA. Documentaries on a wide range of subjects, that share a common thread: they are auteur-driven works, created with a distinct artistic vision. Films that use the camera as a tool of expression, rather than mere registration. Join us after each screening for a conversation hosted by De Balie, with filmmakers and notable guests.