North American Premiere

In this hilarious and entertaining yet hard-hitting documentary, veteran director Yuri Khashchevatski pokes fun at the powerful elite in his home country of Belarus by telling his version of the truth—and illuminating the absurdity of reality. His preferred method of dealing with heavy topics is a light touch of a sharp knife—followed by a quick twist of the blade and a little salt in the wound.

Among his subjects in KALINOVSKI SQUARE is the fledgling democratic movement that seeks to toss out old-line, Stalinesque president Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for nearly 15 years. Khashchevatski also takes a hard look at rural Belarussians who support their president despite his government’s obvious corruption and inability to provide even the most basic services. Though the countries are immensely different, the circumstances provide a stark metaphor in our own election year:  how much are we, like Belarussians, the prisoners of our political and ideological preconceptions?

The director is no stranger to controversy—past films have led to attacks by thugs. He will certainly garner more controversy with KALINOVSKI SQUARE. Yet his bombastic style is betrayed by an underlying humanity and love for his homeland, which shines through in his latest film as it did in THE OASIS, a film about a poet-tramp who lives in the forbidden no-man’s land around Chernobyl. The director has encouraged people to distribute KALINOVSKI SQUARE informally; copies, and copies of copies are making their way around Belarus, slowly building a revolution, just as he calls for in the film itself.

-Bill Gilcher