Campus film screening: Belarusian Waltz

Wisconsin Public Television, UW-Madison’s Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia (CREECA) , and P.O.V. present a screening of the documentary film

Belarusian Waltz

by Andrzej Fidy

6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5

4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave.

UW-Madison professor Ted Gerber, director of CREECA will offer comments and lead a discussion following the film.

Belarus has been called “Europe’s last dictatorship.” Since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the 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 police and the consternation of his family. An offbeat tale of postmodern street theater meeting 1930s-style authoritarianism, the film offers a surprising window in the soul of the Belarusian people. This film is a co-production of ITVS International.

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