Pitfall (a brainteaser)

An allegorical puzzle of typical horrors and fears, which almost every citizen of Belarus, the last reserve of the socialist system, experiences daily.

  • Darya Yurkevich
    Director
  • Darya Yurkevich
    Writer
  • Leonid Kalitenya
    Producer
  • Natalia Bruzhnik
    Producer
  • Marina Poddubnaya
    Key Cast
  • Natalia Melnikova
    Key Cast
  • Alexander Molchanov
    Key Cast
  • Artem Kuren
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Мышеловка (головоломка)
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Experimental, Fiction
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 52 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 1, 2019
  • Country of Origin:
    Belarus
  • Country of Filming:
    Belarus
  • Language:
    Russian
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Alexa
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Darya Yurkevich

Daria grew up in Minsk, she completed her undergraduate studies in chemistry before following her true passion by joining the Belarusian Academy of Arts in Minsk. She was offered the opportunity to work as a director for Belarusian television. There, over the course of the next four years, working as a director in a myriad of projects from documentaries to short films, both fiction and animation, her style begun to develop. With the desire to tackle bigger projects and in the hope of having a deeper understanding of the European cinema in 2007 Daria joined Le Fresnoy, national studio of contemporary arts in France. There, her style evolved further under the influence and advice of directors and artists like Jean-Luc Godard, André S. Labarthe, Alain Fleacher, and Eduardo Kac. Following the masters, Daria has been able to direct a series of short documentaries and films, which have been screened around the world.

2019 Pitfall, short narrative (10 min)
2019 Out of Reach Paradise, documentary (52 min)
2015 Easter, documentary, (13 min)
2014 Granny, Vanya and the Goat, short narrative (15 min)
2011 Maxim & Daria, short narrative, (13 min)
2009 After us the Flood! (Après nous le déluge!) documentary, (14 min)
2008 Under the Covers (Sous la couverture) short narrative, (8 min)
2007 If your son is a director, animated short narrative, (24 min)
2006 N.V.Gogol. Voyage to the Holy Land, documentary, (26 min)
2006 God works through the people, documentary, (17 min)
2004 Children of war, documentary, (13 min)

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Director Statement

The film’s experimentation lies in moving away from the structure of a classical narrative into a puzzle structure, although the puzzle structure itself exists within the framework of the classical dramatic three-part structure.
The small country of Belarus occupies 5th position in the list of countries with the highest number of suicides. Fear and anxiety reigns everywhere here. Everyone knows that they can be jailed for nothing in an instant. This state of anxiety gives rise to global paranoia, which is spreading more and more in the society.
But speaking directly about this paranoid situation that has developed in Belarusian society is not safe. Therefore, I choose the allegorical form, the puzzle. When the answer keys are already laid in the form itself, helping to get out of this paranoia.