Film with Belarusian actors nominated for Oscars

On February 2 a short film The Door by Juanita Wilson was nominated for an Oscar in the Academy Award category for best live action short film.

The film is based on the true story of Nikolay Kalugin which is told in the book “Chernobyl Prayer” by Svetlana Aleksievich. The heart-rending story is about parents who lose their daughter as a result of Chernobyl disaster. The title of the film is taken from a local tradition where the dead are carried to their graves on the door of the house where they once lived.

“I want to testify – my daughter died as a result of Chernobyl. They [the authorities] want us to forget it,” Nikolay is quoted as saying in the book.

“The Door is a universal symbol of life, of death, of entering the next life. It has many associations inherent in it, both positive and negative. It can mean an opportunity gained or an opportunity lost: As one door opens, another one closes”; this is how the film’s creators interpreted their vision.

Initially it was planned to shoot the film in Belarus, so all preliminary preparations for the shooting and castings of actors were held in Minsk. Belarusian actors Igor Sigov and Julietta Kazakevich-Gering are starring in the film. Ilya Kuzniatsou was production coordinator in Minsk.

Says Ilya: “After we finished the location scouting and castings, I showed Juanita and director of photography Tim Fleming the video which I had previously shot in Pripyat, a “ghost town” in Ukraine, seven kilometres away from Chernobyl. I thought the film would be more realistic if shot there, since the story in the book is laid out in Pripyat.”.

“The film turned out to be very touching and has received many international awards,” Ilya said.

“I hope the film will remind people about Chernobyl and what people are still going through. I will definitely come back, with or without a prize and if I don’t have the prize, I will drown myself in Sovetskoye champagne”, Juanita promises

The award ceremony will take place on March 7 in Hollywood.