On August 12th, POV will broadcast Belarusian Waltz by Andrzej Fidyk. The film features an idiosyncratic man named Alexander Pushkin, who shares a name with the great Russian Romantic poet, but turns out to be a different breed of artist altogether.
Belarus has been called “Europe’s last dictatorship.” Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the ex-Soviet republic with a despotic hand, jailing the opposition, shutting down the press and refusing to investigate the assassinations of dissidents. He has virtually silenced his critics — but not one lone performance artist who stages public stunts mocking the dictator’s pretensions. Belarusian Waltz is the story of Alexander Pushkin, whose audacious, comical exploits find him facing the hostility of the police and the consternation of his family. An offbeat tale of post-modern street theater meeting 1930s-style authoritarianism, the film offers a surprising window into the soul of the Belarusian people.
Watch the trailer:
For more previews of 2008 POV films, check out our TV Schedule.