Movies & Music

Ambassadors of Belarus

Volga Dashuk's film Troitsa tells about the famous Troitsa ethno trio, which is one of the most significant and unique phenomena in Belarusian music, folkloristics and culture of recent decades. The three musicians Ivan Kirchuk, Yuryi Paulouski and Yuryi Dzmitryeu combine the authentic Belarusian folklore with modern musical styles. In addition to the highly original music and the masterful performance, Troitsa acts as a kind of educator that records, brings back to life and, to some extent, sacralizes the Belarusian folklore. Thanks to the participation in international festivals, our ethnographic musicians and Belarusian music are known all over the world.

Volga Dashuk's film is based on the video diaries of the band's foreign trips and performances. The film viewers have a unique chance to see Troitsa through the eyes of the performers themselves. In the film, Troitsa travels taking different routes and using various means of transport: a camper van, a train and a plane. Troitsa gives concerts at various festivals, in different countries and even continents. The performances themselves are only part of the video diaries. The most important parts of the film are the humorous scenes of everyday life. They give an idea of the musicians themselves and their friendship.

The film reflects the thoughts of the head of the ensemble Ivan Kirchuk about the eternal, about the search for the meaning of life, about the deep roots of folk traditions. But, perhaps, the most important shots are the faces of the Troitsa listeners at their concerts. The old Belarusian word is heard by people from different countries, of different ages and life experiences, and it clearly resonates in their hearts.

 

Take Away Grief and Misfortune

The heroines of the film The Arrow by Galina Adamovich were faced with a threat of loneliness. After the death of their husbands, they risked ending up in a complete vacuum. But the traditional Belarusian songs saved them. The heroines of The Arrow are members of the well-known, and not only in Belarus, folklore group Staubunouskiya Vyachorki. It is they who, once a year, on the fortieth day after Easter, on the Ascension Day, perform the ancient rite "Circle dancing and burying the arrow", protecting the inhabitants of their village.

The village of Staubun in the Vetka district is perhaps the only place in the world where this custom has been preserved in the most complete and authentic form. It is impossible to count what year in a row the ceremony is held. It is only known that the tradition has not been interrupted for a very long time. The rite has its roots in deep antiquity and has a deep meaning. It is believed, for example, that the arrow stands for lightning, from the danger of which this rite is intended to save. Women sing songs and do circle dancing to ward off misfortune and adversity from the village. The most interesting and sacred part begins when the women switch from circle dancing to burying the arrow. They dig a hole in a field and bring a gift to the earth - it should be three spikelets. They also put coins or some small things in the hole. It is believed that in this way the village is protected from lightning, fertility is given to the earth, and rain is attracted. Some are sure that their wishes come true.

The film by Galina Adamovich has almost none of these details. Her "Arrow" is not an ethnographic and folklore essay, but goes far beyond it. Through the lens of the cameraman Yuryi Dakuchaeu we can see the fate of the three members of the folklore group Staubunouskiya Vyachorki, their portraits as humans and creative figures. Svyatlana Parashchanka, Uliana Aniskova and Valyantsina Martsyan are the three soloists, three women of different ages and looks, but with similar fate: each lost her husband. Actually, their ancient rite requires that widows should be in the front row of the participants. By the way, the working name of Galina Adamovich's film is Widows. The village women try to fill the void with rituals and singing, an active social life. Going on tours and participating in amateur performances bring a lot of emotions to the village life, but the thoughts of each of them constantly return to the local cemetery. The local cemetery several times appears in the film as an important place, where the world of the living comes into contact with the world of others, those for whom the ancient rites are intended.

At the same time, the film by Galina Adamovich is devoid of everyday realism and any global conclusions. The author dispenses with moralizing and does not seek to make the viewer feel sorry for her heroines. With the help of the successful editing of the songs, the rural landscapes and the interviews of the heroines, a complex emotional and psychological picture of the people, who have been living on the Vetka land from time immemorial, from generation to generation, and, despite the difficulties, preserve the unbreakable thread of the Belarusians, is created.

The Arrow offers its viewers a brief look back at the history of this region and the local ancient rituals  — specialists from the Vetka Museum of Old Rituals and Belarusian Traditions named after Fyodar Shklyarau take part in the film. It is this successful combination of the unique life stories and interesting ethnographic commentary that makes The Arrow stand out.

First Lady Of The Stage

The People's Artist of the USSR and the BSSR Svyatlana Danilyuk was the leading Belarusian opera singer for more than twenty years, her name became a symbol of the musical art of our country. Endless performances around the world, TV shootings, training at La Scala, love from the management... Everything is left in the past, and after the premature death of the singer in 2003, Svyatlana Danilyuk, no matter how sad it sounds, gradually began to be forgotten. But there were many records, and there was a unique diary of the artist, which she kept for decades. Three years ago, the son of Svyatlana Danilyuk, Maksim Fedaseeu, a certified documentary filmmaker, came to the Letapis Studio with the idea of making a film about his mother and offered to take the records of the artist, which her family could see only after her death, as the basis for the film.

The film Svyatlana Danilyuk turned out to be unusual. Both due to the extremely sincere narration, and due to the fact that the documents from the singer's archive were used for the first time. But most importantly, this is an unusual and unique drama of the loneliness of a creative person, which unfolds before the eyes of the viewer.

In terms of form, Svyatlana Danilyuk is a biographical film. The viewer traces the creative and life path of the heroine, starting from her studies at Kyiv Conservatory and the first steps on the stage of Perm Opera Theater. At the same time, thanks to the entries from the diary (voice-over by the actress Yulia Palubinskaya), the artist’s restless inner world, her extreme demands on herself and uncompromising attitude towards others are gradually revealed. This exactingness, restless energy and constant measures for self-improvement distinguish the figure of Svyatlana Danilyuk from the other Belarusian opera singers of the sixties and eighties of the last century.
The image of Carmen (the singer's favorite role), which she resembled both internally and externally, runs through the entire film. The background music by Georges Bizet and the entries from the diary of Svetlana Danilyuk (voice-over) are combined with the confession of the artist’s son. You can hear the voice of the director Maksim Fedaseeu who talks about the image of his mother, so close and distant at the same time.

The film has unusually varied and intense visual imagery. Of course, we can see the numerous recordings of performances and interviews of Svyatlana Danilyuk, shots of the places where the most significant events of her life took place. A special episode is her trip to Italy, and we can see not only Milan and the famous La Scala theater, but also Verona, a city that, judging by the diary entries, made an incredible impression on the singer. An important part of the film was the interviews of those who knew the artist well and played a significant role in her life. The People's Artists of the USSR Tamara Sinyauskaya and Uladzislau Piauko, the world opera star Maryia Guleghina, the People's Artists of Belarus Alyaksandr Anisimau, Nina Lamanovich, Natallya Rudneva and others took part in the film.
The main conclusion of the Maksim Fedaseeu’s film is that behind the emotional and energetic figure of Carmen, there was a woman of sensitive and very fragile nature, for whom the loneliness of the great talent became fatal.