Competition status – participant
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Native Land (2016)
Online video | 3.45 min.
Movie Info
- Release Date: 13 Jul, 2016
- Country Belarus
- Author Gleb Labadzenka
- Submitting institution Mova Nanova
Synopsis
The Belarusian band Brutto is banned because its leader openly expressed opposition views. One of its most famous songs is called “Rodney Kraj” (“Native Land”). They sing about how the native land isn’t waiting for its son and considers him a traitor. It is an allegory that tells us it is possible to love your country without necessarily loving its government.
In the video, children are singing who are learning the Belarusian language. Belarusian has been designated as an endangered language by UNESCO as a result of forced Russification during the Soviet era.
In the song a lot of images are intertwined – the love for his native land, the desire that the mother tongue will not die, and the tough choice between freedom of conscience and compromise.
The video was filmed at the ruins of an old water mill, a symbol of a heritage that is rapidly disappearing but that can still be saved.
