To mark the first anniversary of the notorious date December 19th 2010 in Minsk the Dutch premiere of the documentary Belarusian Dream took place in SMART Cinema of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The event was 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.

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.

After the screening the spectators had a possibility to ask questions directly to Katerina Kibalchich through Skype conference.

After the interactive communication with the director a panel discussion on the subject of the current situation in Belarus took place. The panel speakers included Franka Hummels, independent Dutch journalist, author of the book on Tchernobyl issue De Generatorgeneratie, Joeri Oudshoorn (Mission to Minsk) and Valeriya Krasovskaya (We Remember).

Valeriya Krasovskaya announced the start of the Mustache action. «It is a very simple peaceful action, — she said. — Everything one has to do is to let his mustache grow. By doing this, the symbol having negative associations in the Belarusian discourse has a possibility to get new connotations.» Organizers of the action, including Valeriya, supported the action appearing with the mustache.

At the end of the event the participants signed postcards to the Belarusian political prisoners and the petition of Lubov Kovaleva whose son was sentenced to death in Belarus. The petition is addressing European leaders in order for them to try to influence the Belarusian authorities to cancel the death sentence and to investigate the case properly.

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