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A Lesson of Belarusian
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Wikipedia article
'A Lesson of Belarusian' is a 2006 documentary by Polish director Mirosaw Dembiski. It follows the activities of several Belarusian pro-democracy youth activists in the four weeks running up to the highly controversial presidential re-election of Alexander Lukashenko on March 19, 2006. The film has won multiple festival prizes.
Synopsis
In the documentary, 18-year-old Franak Viaorka, a youth activist with the Belarusian Popular Front, and his friends prepare for the run-up to the 2006 presidential election. Their activities range from handing out newspapers, organising rock concerts, distributing flyers, composing protest songs and interviewing Alaksandar Milinkievi, opposition candidate. Aside from the main theme of the elections, it also touches briefly on the incarceration of Franak's father, Vincuk Viaorka, a professor at the banned Belarusian Humanities Lyceum, where Franak and many of his friends were students.
Events come to a climax on the night of the election results, March 19. Following the suspicious landslide victory of Lukashenko, opposition activists and supporters take to the streets in protest, many of them setting up a 'tent city' in October Square in Minsk. By the night of March 23, riot police are deployed to clear the remaining protesters.
Two days later on March 25, Belarusian Independence Day riot police clash violently with anti-Lukashenko demonstrators, detaining several, among them Alaksandar Milinkievi. By the end of the film, Franak's father has been released from detention, the battle has temporarily been lost, but the people's spirit is unquenched. According to Franak, the end is nigh for Lukashenko.
References
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