Focus on Belarus (2020)

After the fraudulent presidential election in Belarus in August 2020, thousands of Belarusians protested peacefully against the government and the president. The developments put the country in the spotlight internationally, leading police to reduce the use of violence. This shows that attention has effect; support to the Belarusians is vital by keeping our focus on their country. This film is made in support of the Belarusian people, who are fighting for a free country at this very moment. For this film, I combined footage that I shot myself in 2016 and 2017 with recent news footage to send an important message: let us stand in solidarity with the Belarusians by keeping our focus on their country. I’m an independent filmmaker from the Netherlands and I had multiple journeys to Belarus to film there. I also captured anti-government protests; one time I had to flee to safety when police intervened violently by randomly attacking people and forcing them into trucks. Later, I interviewed someone who was caught in this way. However, the media in the Netherlands were not interested in the footage. This lack of attention is one of the reasons why Belarus did not see any change in the past years. Belarus is an authoritarian regime where protesting is not allowed and heavily punished by the police. After the fraudulent presidential election in August, thousands of Belarusians continue to protest peacefully against the government and the president. The recent developments have put the country in the spotlight internationally, leading police to reduce the use of violence. This shows that our attention has effect; support the Belarusians by keeping our focus on their country.

After the fraudulent presidential election in Belarus in August 2020, thousands of Belarusians protested peacefully against the government and the president. The developments put the country in the spotlight internationally, leading police to reduce the use of violence. This shows that attention has effect; support to the Belarusians is vital by keeping our focus on their country.

This film is made in support of the Belarusian people, who are fighting for a free country at this very moment. For this film, I combined footage that I shot myself in 2016 and 2017 with recent news footage to send an important message: let us stand in solidarity with the Belarusians by keeping our focus on their country. I’m an independent filmmaker from the Netherlands and I had multiple journeys to Belarus to film there. I also captured anti-government protests; one time I had to flee to safety when police intervened violently by randomly attacking people and forcing them into trucks. Later, I interviewed someone who was caught in this way. However, the media in the Netherlands were not interested in the footage. This lack of attention is one of the reasons why Belarus did not see any change in the past years. Belarus is an authoritarian regime where protesting is not allowed and heavily punished by the police. After the fraudulent presidential election in August, thousands of Belarusians continue to protest peacefully against the government and the president. The recent developments have put the country in the spotlight internationally, leading police to reduce the use of violence. This shows that our attention has effect; support the Belarusians by keeping our focus on their country.