© Siarhiej Kanaplianik
Sceneggiatura / Screenplay: Alexander Mihalkovich, Hanna Badziaka
Fotografia / Photography: Siarhiej Kanaplianik
Montaggio / Editing: Katiia Vushnya
Musica, suono / Music, Sound: Yngve Sætre, Thomas Angell Endresen
Produzione / Produced by: Sisyfos Film Voka Films
Coproduzione / Co-produced by: Folk Film
Con il sostegno di / Supported by: Swedish Film Institute, Eurimages, Western Norway Film Centre, Mediefondet Zefyr, The Fritt Ord Foundation, Bergesenstiftelsen, IDFA Bertha Fund, Renovabis Research Grant, Viewfinder Masters Program, IMS, Baltic to Black Sea Documentary Network (B2B Doc), Docs Up Fund, Fund for Belarus Democracy – German Marshall Fund, Prague Civil Society Centre
Distribuzione internazionale / World Sales: Lightdox
As young Nikita apprehensively enters his military conscription, Svetlana travels the country looking for justice for her son, murdered while in military training. It is 2020, and activists rage in the street against state-led violence rooted in ‘dedovshchina’, the cruel abuse that supposedly turns boys into soldiers but is instead the very mechanism of fear and violence the Belarusian government uses to control its populace. After its premiere at CPH:DOX 2023, where it won the Main Award, Motherland was then selected at more than 30 international festivals including Krakow, Sarajevo, and IDFA in Amsterdam.
“Our film explores the violence in the army and in the society, the social norms that are behind it, and their transformation. The film also confronts the concepts of responsibility, fear, loss, and sorrow as we are searching for the starting point of the cycle of violence. While it’s common to talk about the consequences of violence, we are focusing on the causes.” (A. Mihalkovich, H. Badziaka)
Alexander Mihalkovich
Alexander Mihalkovich is a Belarusian- Ukrainian director and producer. He graduated with a PhD in Library Science and an MA in Film Directing at DocNomads international study program. After creating several short documentary and experimental films, in 2018 he made his debut feature film My Granny from Mars. It had a successful theatrical release in Ukraine and has been selected at numerous international film festival.
Hanna Badziaka
Hanna Badziaka is a filmmaker with a background in journalism. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Philology from the Belarusian State University in 2010. She began her career as a video journalist for independent online media and later worked for the only independent TV channel in Belarus. Motherland is her feature documentary debut.
Selected filmography
2009 Klapotski cm / sf 2015 Two cm / sf 2016 White Sheet of Paper cm / sf 2017 Leave Permission cm / sf 2018 My Granny From Mars 2023 Motherland doc. (diretto con / directed with Hanna Badziaka); Premi / Awards: CPH:DOX – Primo premio Dox:Award / Main Prize Dox:Award; goEast FF – Premio FIPRESCI / FIPRESCI Prize; Cracovia FF – Premio del pubblico / Krakow FF – Audience Award
