The day started with “solidarity”, a short film (2005) directed by Joan Schimke and produced by Eva Nagorski. A 21-minute powerful story set in 1982 communist Poland during the time of rule by marshal law explores the meaning of friendship, love, trust and betrayal among a group of college friends celebrating a bitter-sweet 10-year wedding anniversary. “A simple accident creates an unexpected turn of events, and in a matter of minutes, life-long friendships are destroyed.”

“solidarity” was shot in NYC in 2005 and reminded of the times of the Solidarity era, the times of total government control when you never knew when the secret police would strike or even who was a member...perhaps even your neighbors or friends were in league with the repressive government.
 
Joan Stein Schimke got a very warm and enthusiastic welcome from the audience especially the polish viewers who now live in the USA; they were all impressed by the realistic details of the film. Some of these details were as dear to the Polish as a portrait of Pope John Paul II.  And if Poland became free and independent and follows a democratic path, Belarus has a long way ahead of it.

Perhaps, one of the characters you see in “A Lesson of Belarusian” will help Belarus to get on the right track.

Documentary scenes, real people with unreal life stories added so much power to the film “A Lesson of Belarusian” (Belarusian, Polish; English subtitles). It opened fresh wounds and made its actual characters (two Lyceum students and live witnesses of Minsk-2006 presented at the screening) and the audience go though the forgotten: Kalinouski Square, the spring of 2006.

A 55-minute lesson of Belarusian might have even looked like a fantasy, fiction, the result of someone’s sick imagination or even a complete nightmare for anyone unfamiliar with the Belarusian reality. It brought back the events of 2006 and told the compelling story of the post-Soviet experience, Belarusian variant.

Applaud to the echo and the Belarusians. Photo by: Mark Hewko.

A well-known Belarusian artist Ales Shaternik remembers the March of 2006 when along with hundreds of Belarusians his Freedom Bell was also arrested. Photo by: Mark Hewko.



Photo by: Mark Hewko



Photo courtesy of: Mark Hewko

Fragments of “A Lesson of Belarusian”:

 
The Ukrainian Museum's film program was supported in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The screening session was also co-sponsored by the Belarusian Youth Movement of America and the Belarusian Museum.

Special thanks to the Ukrainian Museum, the program director of the KinoFest Damian Kolodiy for including “A Lesson of Belarusian” into the film program and to a photographer Mark Hewko for the photo materials.