Belarusian history of cinema

Film-making in Belarus started in 1924 when the State Administration on Matters of Cinematography and Photography (Belgoskino) was organized. In 1928 in Leningrad the "Soviet Belarus" studio of picture films was founded, since 1939 it worked in Minsk, since 1946 under the name of "Belarusfilm".  
 
The first picture film "Forest True Story" was created in 1926. The topic of people's struggle for national and social liberation was the leading one in cinematography of the 1920s-1930s. From the end of the 1920s films covering the modern life appeared: "Born Twice", and "Seekers of Happiness". Films for children started to be made. A considerable place in the 1930s belonged to screening of literary works: story "Nightingale" by Z. Byadulya, story "Mask" by A. Chekov, etc. During the Great Patriotic War Belarusian documentary film-makers were among the first to shoot front reports, created the chronicle of partisan war in the Republic. In 1945 the "Soviet Belarus" film studio restored its activity.  
 
Considerable successes of Belarusian picture and documentary cinematography are connected with development of the topics of the Great Patriotic War to which the following films were dedicated: "Konstantin Zaslonov", "Clock Stopped Midnight", "Through the Cemetery", "Alpine Ballad", and so on.  

In films about modern times, the Belarusian film-makers aimed at showing complex processes of public life, raised moral and ethical problems: "Happiness Should be Protected", "Our Neighbours", "Time-Table for the Day After Tomorrow. From the end of the 1980s Belarusian film-makers aim to more deeply interpret the historical past and complex processes of modernity, and it found its reflection in films "White Dews", "Our Armored Train" and "I'll Give Them Their Due". 
 
The "Belarusfilm" has the "Letopis" studio of documentary films and a workshop of animation films. In 1962 the Union of Film-Makers of Belarus was created. The "Belarusfilm" film studio is the permanent participant in many international film festivals, since 1993 it participates in the majority of film-markets. The films created here have won numerous awards and prizes of festivals. Films of the film studio are of commercial demand. Among the best works of Belarusian film-makers we may name the picture film "Through the Cemetery" by producer Victor Turov that was included into top 100 best works of world cinema. The "Belarusfilm" studio is one of the leading studios in the Eastern Europe. It is able to produce 10-12 picture films, 20-25 documentary and 4-5 animation films per year. The studio is located in a picturesque part of the city of Minsk, along its main avenue - Frantsisk Skoriny Avenue.  

The "Belarusfilm" film studio is successfully implementing international creative projects of making picture films in co-operation with film-makers of Russia, Germany, Israel and other countries. Alongside with movies, a great number of video products are made in the republic on the basis of the "Belarusian Video Center" production-creative enterprise.

 
The enterprise makes about 50 newsreels and documentary video films per year, the majority being shot under the order of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus. Among them films-portraits are about the outstanding figures of Belarusian culture: composers, producers, writers and poets, artists, musicians etc.; a large number of tapes is dedicated to Belarusian folklore and national creative art. The "Belvideocenter" has made films about cities of Belarus, their cultural heritage, about flora and fauna of the Republic. Among theatrical works one should mention films-ballets staged by V. Yelizariev, People's Actor of the USSR and Belarus, winner of the "Benois de la Dance" Prize, Director and Artistic Manager of the National Ballet of the Republic of Belarus, and also the best performances of drama theatres of the country. Since 1999 "Belvideocenter" started to create short picture films, video clips and cartoon films.  
 
Films by "Belvideocenter" have been repeatedly getting prizes and awards of international festivals and film-television forums - such as, for example, the Festival of Nations in Austria, "Golden Vityaz", "Message to the Man" film festival, "Russia - 96" festival, festival of sports films in Italy. "Belvideocenter" co-operates with Belarusian television, and also with central Russian and foreign OV-channels - RTR, NTV, AST, "Internews" (Russia, Moscow), Canal+ (France) etc.