Motherland
Hanna Badziaka & Alexander Mihalkovich
2023
About Film
When young Nikita reports for compulsory military duty in 2020, he enters a generations-old tradition that hides a deadly secret in post-Soviet Belarus: dedovshchina, the practice of violent abuse and bullying that supposedly turns boys into men but which has instead created generational trauma deeply embedded in the country’s present-day culture and identity. Svetlana lives with this traumatic reality every day; her son was found hanged on base two years earlier as a result of dedovshchina, and a veil of secrecy continues to conceal his murderers. In this country where sons are disposable, and the instruments of control are out of hand, mothers emerge as inexhaustible fighters confronting the status quo.
About Director
Alexander Mihalkovich
Belarusian-Ukrainian director and producer graduated with a PhD in Library Science and an MA in Film Directing at DocNomads international study program. He produces documentaries with an experimental and creative background. After creating several short documentaries and experimental films, he made his debut feature film My Granny from Mars. The film had a successful theatrical release in Ukraine and has been selected at numerous international film festivals including 2019 DOK.fest München, 2019 BelDocs Belgrade, 2018 Sarajevo IFF DocuTalents Award.
Hanna Badziaka
Hanna Badziaka is a filmmaker with a background in journalism. She graduated with a Master's in Philology from the Belarusian State University in 2010 and began her career as a video journalist for independent online media, later working for the only independent tv channel in Belarus. After gaining extensive experience in creating in-depth video reports, she became interested in documentary filmmaking. She participated in creating several documentaries and worked as a director and scriptwriter for tv projects focused on short documentaries. Motherland, which she co-directs, is her feature documentary debut.
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