Private Project

Belarus 23.34

The film Belarus 23.34 is a story of Belarusians who faced repressions: a guy who was simply riding his bicycle near Minsk Hero City Obelisk and ended up in hell in Okrestina; a plumber who went out on Frunzenskaya station because the subway train did not go further, and a few minutes later he was already lying on the sidewalk with his heel torn off; a mother of seven children, who went to a prison truck, protecting her son and saw him being marked with red paint; a female doctor who was gassed in a prison truck, and then forced to duck and run along the corridors of the Zhodina prison...
30 brave people told us how they experienced detention and torture in August-December 2020, how they feel, and what, in their opinion, changed in Belarusian society (25 interviews were used in the film). The effect is enhanced by the black background against which these people tell their stories, and filming the places they tell about and using the footage of surveillance cameras illustrate and confirm their words.
The movie shows the way of the detainee on a protest action in Belarus: march and detention, a ride in a prison truck, registration at a police station, trial, prison, release and reflection on the experience. The timing of the film is 65 minutes.
In Belarus, the participants of the 2020 protests are still being detained. The situation for political prisoners is worsening.

  • Tatsiana Svirepa
    Director
  • Tatsiana Svirepa
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Беларусь 23.34
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 5 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 3, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    13,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Belarus
  • Country of Filming:
    Belarus
  • Language:
    Belarusian, Russian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Silver Eye award 2022
    Jihlava
    Czech Republic
    October 28, 2022
    No premiere
    Silver Eye award 2022
  • ArtDocFest

    April 5, 2023
    Premiere
    Official Selection
  • DOC-Cévennes International Documentary Film Festival
    Lasalle
    France
    May 19, 2023
    France Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Festiwal Filmowy NNW
    Gdynia
    Poland
    September 28, 2023
    Poland Premiere
    Pokazy specjalne
  • Bulbamovie
    Warsaw
    Poland
    November 25, 2023
    Winner
  • DOK.fest München
    München
    Germany
    May 2, 2024
Director Biography - Tatsiana Svirepa

Svirepa Tatsiana, born on May 18, 1996 in Belarus in the town of Linovo, Brest Region, where lived until the age of 17.
Education:
Linovskaya secondary school, graduated in 2013;
In 2017, graduated from the Belarusian State University of Economics with a degree in Marketing and Economics and Belarusian State University with a degree in Photojournalism;
Courses on creating photo stories from the Belarusian Association of Journalists (in 2017, 2018 and 2020);
Human Rights Introduction Course in Human Winter Camp in 2019;
Courses on creating films on social topics from the Workshop of Social Cinema in 2019;
School of constructive social journalism and storytelling IBB Minsk in 2021.
Work as a photojournalist, journalist, director. The works were published in BirdInFlight, tvrain, tut.by, Republic, gaypress, August 2020, Novaya Gazeta.
The debut short film "Limbo" which tells about the life of transit refugees in the city of Brest, was released in 2020. "Limbo" was screened at the following festivals:
Unfiltered cinema (Belarus),
Watch Docs (Belarus),
EMAP (Ewha Movie Festa International Competition - South Korea),
The Southern Margins International Short Film Festival (USA)
Max Diversity Film Festival (Belgium).
In 2021, released the film "A Few Words About My Mother and Her Dog," which received a jury honorary mention at the Unfiltered Cinema Festival (Belarus).

In 2021 left Belarus due to the political situation, lived in Kiev before the war, and now live in Warsaw and have a refugee status.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement


I was an active participant in the protest and the Belarusian resistance, and received a concussion in a car accident during the August 11 protest. That's why the topic is very important for me. I'm still in contact with almost everyone who was in the film.