Kupała (Belarusian: Купала) is a biopic produced by BelarusFilm in 2020 which dramatises the turbulent and tragic life of Belarusian poet Janka Kupała.

Kupała
Directed byUladzimier Jankoŭski
Written byAliaksandra Barysava and Alena Kalunova
StarringMikalaj Śestak (aka Nikolay Shestak)
Production
company
Release date
  • 2020 (2020)
CountryBelarus
LanguageBelarusian

The film was directed by Belarusian director Uladzimier Jankoŭski [be-tarask] (aka Vladimir Yankovskiy) based on a storyline written by Aliaksandra Barysava and Alena Kalunova and starred Mikalaj Śestak (aka Nikolay Shestak), a Latvian actor with Belarusian roots, in lead role.[1][2][3]

The official release of the film has been postponed due to the political situation in Belarus and Russia:[4]

Plot

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“The film reveals the main milestones of the poet's life and career, coinciding with the most tragic events of the 20th century”.[5]

“The fate of Kupała is written in the historical context and is closely connected with the fate of Belarus. Standing at the origins of the formation of the [modern] Belarusian nation, Kupała witnessed the birth of hopes for national revival and became a hostage of the totalitarian Soviet system. The complex personal story of the poet, the clash of the poet and the authorities, the huge poetic gift and love for the native land - all this formed the basis of the plot of the film. "Kupała" is a film about hope, about the continuity of history, about the poet as the embodiment of the national idea of an entire nation."[6]

“The film speaks about love and hate, war and revolution, life and death, creativity and literary gift. What is seen on screen is a story of an outstanding person, a poet of rare talent, whose personal drama and whose mysterious death still excite the minds of researchers and fans”.[7]

Cast

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Controversies

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Designed as a flagship project of Belarusian state cinema company BelarusFilm, the film was due to be officially released in 2019. However, the release has been postponed and the film has so far been seen only by a select few critics and in pirate versions. The postponement is widely attributed to an anticipated hostile reaction in Russia to “a [Belarusian] post-colonial film [which depicts] Belarus [as] a colony first of the Russian Empire, and then the Soviet Empire...”,[4] a film “designed to help [Belarusians] understand who [they] are”.[2]

The film received a Cinematographic Event of the Year award at the second CIS international film festival in Moscow in November 2020.[8] However, due to Covid restrictions, the film was seen by no more than 170 people.[3]

Six months later, the film was viewed by several experts at a closed preview of the Eurasian Film Festival in Britain. The premiere was supposed to take place in Romford, East London, on an anniversary of the poet's death. However, two days before the screening, BelarusFilm withdrew the film from the competition. Most of the videos posted online have been deleted or blocked.[3] As a result, the film was awarded the first anti-prize of the Eurasian Film Festival.[9]

In April 2022, the film director confirmed that the rights to "Kupała" are held by BelarusFilm and that “the film is not permitted to be released yet”.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Yankovskiy, Vladimir, Kupala (Biography, Drama, History), Belarusfilm, archived from the original on 2022-04-13, retrieved 2022-07-23
  2. ^ a b "Уладзімір Янкоўскі: "Купалу" я зрабіў так, як разумею і ўмею" [Uladzimier Jankoŭski: I created “Kupała ” to the best of my understanding and ability]. zviazda.by (in Belarusian). 2019-11-07. Archived from the original on 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  3. ^ a b c "Больше "Купалу" не видели: кто делает вид, что фильма не существует" [Kupała is no longer shown: who pretends that the film does not exist?]. Новости Беларуси | euroradio.fm (in Russian). 21 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  4. ^ a b "KUPALA movie premier delayed over fears of Kremlin's anger?". euroradio.fm. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  5. ^ Kupala, archived from the original on 2022-07-23, retrieved 2022-07-23
  6. ^ "THE BELT AND ROAD FILM WEEK 2021 | Film Line-up". www.siff.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  7. ^ "Купала" [Kupała]. belarusfilm.by (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  8. ^ "Yanka Kupała project wins award at Moscow film festival". Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  9. ^ Michael Daniel Sagatis. KUPALA FALLS ONCE AGAIN. OCA Magazine #42 FALL 2021. P. 30-31 Archived 2022-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Будзьма беларусамі! » Калі выйдзе фільм пра Купалу? Гутарка з рэжысёрам Уладзімірам Янкоўскім" [When will the film about Kupała be released? Interview with director Uladzimier Jankoŭski]. budzma.org. Archived from the original on 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
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