Belarusfilm (Belarusian: Беларусьфільм) is the main film studio of Belarus.[1]

Belarusfilm
Company typeCorporation
IndustryMotion pictures
Animated films
PredecessorIntegralte Pictures
Founded1926; 98 years ago (1926)
HeadquartersMinsk, Belarus
ProductsMotion pictures
Animated films

History

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Belarusfilm main building on Independence Avenue.

Soviet times

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Belarusfilm, under the name Belgoskino was founded in 1924.[2][3][4] The first film shot at the studio was "The Forest Past" by Yuri Tarich.[5]

In 1928, the Soviet Belarus studio (Савецкая Беларусь) was founded in Leningrad and moved to Minsk in 1939.[6] Film production was interrupted by World War II, and restarted in 1946, when the studio assumed its current name. After World War II, the studio was dubbed Partizanfilm, due to the large output of films portraying the Soviet partisan's struggle against Nazi occupation.

In Soviet times, the studio was also renowned for its children's films. Its first project was a co-production with Soyuzmultfilm in 1963 – a stop motion feature film called Attention! The Magician is in the City![7] Consistent animated film production, however, did not begin until 1972. The studio has to date made 131 animated films.[8]

Most of the output has been in Russian rather than Belarusian.

Belarusfilm is also a co-organizer of the Listapad film festival annually held in Minsk, Belarus in November.

Among the early, Soviet-era directors who oversaw films for the studio are: Alexander Faintsimmer, Oleg Frelikh, Vladimir Gardin, Vladimir Korsh-Sablin, Grigori Roshal, Boris Shpis, Yuri Tarich and Mikhail Verner.

2000s

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In 2012, Sergei Loznitsa’s In the Fog shot jointly with Belarusfilm won the FIPRESCI prize at the 65th Cannes Film Festival. In 2013, Belarusfilm presented 5 shorts at Cannes.[9]

In 2019, a large part of the movie Squad was shot at Belarusfilm. It is the first Bollywood film to be shot in Belarus.

Also in 2019, the movie Enemy Lines was shot in Belarus.

In 2019, Belarusfilm signed a memorandum of long-term cooperation with the Indian Union of Trade and Industry Promotion Organization.[10]

In 2024, the studio announced working on its first 3D animated fantasy film.[11]

Selected films

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USSR

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Belarus

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Peter Rollberg (2016). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 101–103. ISBN 978-1442268425.
  2. ^ "Official site". Archived from the original on 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  3. ^ Huzhalouski, Alexander (2011). "Cinema in Belarus Under the Pressure of Censorship 1924–41". Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema. 5 (2): 169–180. doi:10.1386/srsc.5.2.169_1. S2CID 192123612.
  4. ^ "Belarusfilm gears up to celebrate 100th anniversary of national cinematography". Kultura. 2023-10-16. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  5. ^ "Open Day at Belarusfilm Film Studio". Listapad Festival. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  6. ^ Great Soviet Encyclopedia (in Russian) (3rd ed.). Moscow: Sovetskaya Enciklopediya. 1970. vol. 3, p. 99.
  7. ^ Attention! The Magician is in the City! at animator.ru
  8. ^ Chronological list of Belarusfilm animated films at animator.ru
  9. ^ "Belarus to present five short films at Cannes". Belarus.by. 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  10. ^ "Belarusfilm to collaborate with Indian moviemakers". Belarus.by. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  11. ^ "Belarusfilm is preparing to release the first full-length animated 3D fantasy film". Belarus 24. 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
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53°55′39″N 27°37′47″E / 53.92750°N 27.62972°E / 53.92750; 27.62972