State register of cinema and video films of Belarusian Ministry of Culture refused to issue a distribution certificate allowing demonstration in Belarus a documentary “Long Way Home… Requiem”, to independent studio “Tatsiana”. The documentary tells about life and creative work of writer Vasil Bykaw. The reason for refusal is that demonstration of the film in Belarus can “negatively influence moral and ethical core of the Belarusian people’s life”.
“Many episodes of the film raise no objections, however there are some episodes that are not good from a moral and ethical point of view when speaking about the front-line soldier,” told head of the State Register Yuri Tsvyatkow. As said by him, the decision to ban the film have been made also by two commissions of the Culture Minister of Belarus, national experts commission and classification commission, which happens extremely seldom. But the creators of the film and central characters say that the real reason for ban is officials’ fear of the highest Belarusian authorities, which attitude towards Bykaw remains negative even after his death.
“Bykaw’s circle consists of people disagreeable for the authorities. That is why to be on the safe side it is better to ban a film about Bykaw than to register it and later be responsible for it in any way. To write about the film that it can cause harm to the nation is possible only when experiencing an extreme fear,” told film director Iryna Pismennaya.
Dear Colleagues. Remember, please, you are expected to refer to the Charter`97 Press Center when using the site materials. News export , javascript-informer
, javascript-informer
