Hanna Badziaka and Alexander Mihalkovich's effectively constructed film Motherland masterfully reveals how the brutal mechanisms used in the Belarusian army extend to the state level in the form of militarized control to suppress its citizens. Read in the form of a voice-over, letters exchanged between a mother and son during his military service become this stunning and visceral film’s framework. The stories of grieving mothers who’ve lost their soldier sons to violent hazing rituals interweave with those of a younger generation, like Nikita and his friends who anxiously dread conscription. Motherland offers a deeply layered and disturbing portrait of a nation where the iron fist of repressive neo-nationalist rulers comes down violently on those who dare voice discontent or any form of civic resistance. (ME)

competition : International Feature Competition

Motherland