LIBERTÉ

Film by Andrei Kureichik:
LIBERTÉ
Drama, Belarus
105 minutes
Director: Andrei Kureichik
Screenplay: Andrei Kureichik, Dmitry Marinin
Director of Photography: Nikita Pinigin
Cast: Svetlana Anikey, Jean-Marc Birholz, Sergei Vlasov
Languages: Russian, German
ABOUT THE FILM:
LIBERTÉ is a philosophical psychological drama by Belarusian director Andrei
Kureichik, filmed in 2020. Widely considered the last independent feature film created
in Belarus before the country’s cultural and political climate shifted into a totalitarian
regime following the mass repression of 2020, LIBERTÉ captures a pivotal moment
in the nation’s history. In the aftermath of dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s contested
election defeat, independent Belarusian cinema without censorship either ceased to
exist or continued in exile.
The film was produced by the independent studio “BezBuslou Arts,” which was
dismantled by Lukashenko’s security services shortly after production.
Andrei Kureichik, a prominent figure in Belarusian cultural resistance, played a key
role in the campaign of elected president Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was forcibly
exiled by the KGB. He joined the Coordination Council alongside Nobel laureate
Svetlana Alekseevich, filmmaker Yuri Khashchevatsky, and musician Maria
Kalesnikova, among others, to oppose the brutal state-sponsored violence in Belarus.
The regime responded with repression: arrests, forced exiles, and the disbandment of
the Belarusian intelligentsia. Kureichik himself fled Belarus overnight.

LIBERTÉ, Kureichik’s last film shot in Belarus, was left behind on the hard drives of
the studio destroyed by Lukashenko’s forces. For four years, the material was hidden
in a garage by a driver who worked on the production, evading searches by state
investigators. In a remarkable act of defiance, the film was smuggled out of Belarus
years later, ensuring its survival despite the regime’s attempts to suppress it.
The film is a profound exploration of Freedom, seen through the lens of a troubled mysterious Belarusian woman named Anna, who lives in isolation in a remote forest. Desperate to save her teenage son from a drug addiction that began when he mistook his father’s stash for medicine, Anna confines him to the basement of her house. Her husband, a drug dealer, disappeared years ago and is being hunted by Interpol. German investigator Leon arrives at Anna’s home to question her, only to find himself drawn to her enigmatic, haunted nature. As their connection deepens, Leon uncovers a heart-wrenching truth: Anna’s son has been dead for years. Unable to confront her grief or guilt over her husband’s actions, Anna has constructed an illusion in which her son is still alive, battling addiction. Leon faces a moral dilemma—should he shatter Anna’s illusion with the truth or leave her in her fragile but comforting fantasy?

Shot in a pristine, ancient forest on the Belarus-Poland border, LIBERTÉ is both a
visually stunning and emotionally gripping narrative.

Svetlana Anikey, a leading star of Belarusian cinema and principal actress of the
Yanka Kupala National Theater, and Jean-Marc Birholz, a prominent figure in
German cinema delivers standout performances in this deeply existential drama.
A masterpiece miraculously saved from the clutches of an oppressive regime,
LIBERTÉ echoes the timeless truth of Mikhail Bulgakov’s words: “Manuscripts don’t
burn.”