About the film

The film picks up the story in 2010, as the KGB of Belarus is cracking down on dissenters. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Alexander Lukashenko took power in Belarus 1994 presidential election – and never let go. Now, as a dubious new presidential election takes place, the KGB targets Free Theatre founders Nikolai Khalezin and Natalia Koliada, along with their colleagues. Their plight is reminiscent of Eastern European writers and artists during the Cold War who had to choose between repression at home and disconnection in exile. What’s changed in the twenty-first century is the power of documentary crews to capture what’s happening. In Sackler’s film we get a front-row seat to a resistance movement full of vitality, both on the stage and in the streets. As one Free Theatre member says, “Work and laughter are what will save us”.