To mark the first anniversary of the notorious date December 19th 2010 the Dutch premiere of the documentary Belarusian Dream is set to take place in SMART Cinema of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The event is co-organized by YIEC Newline, We Remember, Mission to Minsk and Smart Project Space.

Belarusian Dream recounts the story of a young man who for the last 18 years has been living in Belarus, a country known to the world as the last European dictatorship. The film focuses on last year's presidential elections and reminds us of the feeling of freedom that was present during the election campaign when people took to the streets to demonstrate against Alexander Lukashenko. It shows the dramatic events on the post-election night of 19 December 2010 and the events following it; the crowds taking to the streets of Minsk, the confusion of the opposition leaders, the firmness and brutality of the forces and the subsequent repression, mass abductions and trials of activists. It is a film about the economic devastation of the country and the hardships of live under the Lukashenko regime.

The film had is Belarusian premiere last month with a secret screening in Minsk. The public premiere in Amsterdam is held exactly one year after the fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus. The protests followed that day were brutally crackdown by the regime.

Director Katerina Kibalchich is a Belarusian, who currently lives in Moscow and works as a journalist for Russian Channel One. In 2011, she was awarded the “Golden Feather” Prize presented by the Russian Union of Journalists as a laureate in the category of “Special Correspondent” for the series of her investigative reports on a wide range of socio-political issues.

The event is organized by the Youth International Education Club NEWLINE (Belarus/Netherlands), the Civil Initiative “We Remember” (United States) and Mission to Minsk (Netherlands) in cooperation with Smart Project Space.

Program of the event:

Date: December 19th, Monday

Place: SMART Cinema, Arie Biemondstraat 111, Amsterdam

20.30 Film screening
21.30 Q&A with Katerina Kibalchich, film director
21.50 Brief panel discussion with invited guests

The event is free of charge and is open for the public.