Motherland (HKIFF48)
Genre
SPECIAL PROGRAMME
Release Date
2 Apr 2024 (Tue)
Category
--- (HK), ---(Macau)
Running Time
95 Minutes
Language
Belarusian
Subtitle
Chinese and English
Director
Alexander Mihalkovich, Hanna Badziaka
Cast
---
Synopsis
Filmmaking partners Mihalkovich and Badziaka’s unflinching and often traumatic film documents the age-old tradition of ‘dedovshchina’ in postSoviet Belarus, whereby young, newly-conscripted soldiers are ritually tortured and abused by their superiors. When these barbaric hazing tactics turn fatal, grieving mothers like Svetlana are left with no alternative but to go to war against a monolithic authoritarian regime. Her struggle plays out in parallel to the experiences of Nikita, as he receives his orders to enlist, and a community whose protestations about such archaic abuse overflows into violence on the city streets.
Filmmaking partners Mihalkovich and Badziaka’s unflinching and often traumatic film documents the age-old tradition of ‘dedovshchina’ in postSoviet Belarus, whereby young, newly-conscripted soldiers are ritually tortured and abused by their superiors. When these barbaric hazing tactics turn fatal, grieving mothers like Svetlana are left with no alternative but to go to war against a monolithic authoritarian regime. Her struggle plays out in parallel to the experiences of Nikita, as he receives his orders to enlist, and a community whose protestations about such archaic abuse overflows into violence on the city streets.
