LETTERS FROM THE SILENCED COUNTRY WINS AWARD AT THE 83RD VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Andrei Kutsila’s „Letters from the Silenced Country” has received The Impact Golden Globes Prize for Documentary presented by Artemis Rising Foundation at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The documentary, a poignant portrait of contemporary Belarus and people whose lives have been marked by political repression, was screened in the Venice Open – Out of Competition section. The award is another major international recognition for a film that gives a voice to those whom an authoritarian regime has sought to silence.
The prize received by Letters from the Silenced Country is one of the awards presented in connection with the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Its official name is The Impact Golden Globes Prize for Documentary presented by Artemis Rising Foundation. The film was recognised for its courageous storytelling, deeply humanist perspective and distinctive visual language.
Andrei Kutsila’s documentary was presented as part of Venice Open – Out of Competition. The filmmakers were joined at the official premiere by Kamila Dorbach, Director of the Polish Film Institute. The film’s presence in Venice was itself a significant achievement. Organised by La Biennale di Venezia, the festival is one of the oldest and most prestigious film events in the world.
Letters from the Silenced Country is a creative documentary following the lives of five Belarusians whose experiences have been shaped by state violence and political repression. At the heart of the film are personal letters written from prison, exile and hiding, through which stories of protest, imprisonment, escape and moral resistance gradually emerge.
Kutsila brings together different forms of documentary storytelling. Observational footage is interwoven with archival material, found footage and animation based on drawings created during imprisonment. Through these elements, the individual experiences of the protagonists form a broader portrait of contemporary Belarus, a country where political violence seeks to deprive people not only of their freedom, but also of the right to tell their own stories.
Yet Letters from the Silenced Country is not solely a film about repression. It is also a story of dignity, solidarity, love and the struggle to preserve one’s humanity in circumstances where freedom comes at a very real price. By restoring a voice to people who were meant to be silenced, the film shows how personal testimony can itself become an act of resistance.