Mochnarte hosted a screening of the documentary Courage by Belarusian filmmaker Aliaksei Paluyan, focusing on the events and protests in Belarus in August 2020. The screening was followed by a conversation with the director about the film, personal experience, and the role of documentary cinema in preserving memory.
The programme also included an Artist Talk with Belarusian artist Rufina Bazlova. The conversation focused on her artistic practice, her work with traditional Belarusian embroidery, and the ways in which cultural heritage can become a means of reflecting on contemporary history and collective memory.
The event brought together film and contemporary art, creating a space to reflect on memory, identity, cultural heritage, and artistic practices in the context of Belarus.
︎︎︎ Aliaksei Paluyan
Aliaksei Paluyan is a Belarusian filmmaker, born in 1989. In 2012, he moved to Germany, where he studied Film and Television Directing at the Kunsthochschule Kassel. His documentary Courage (2021), which follows members of the Belarus Free Theatre during the 2020 protests, premiered at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival and was later screened at major international film festivals. Paluyan is also the founder of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy and a member of the European Film Academy.
︎︎︎ Rufina Bazlova
Rufina Bazlova is a Belarusian artist, born in 1990 in Hrodna and based in Prague. Her multidisciplinary practice includes embroidery, illustration, performance and scenography. She gained international recognition for her series The History of Belarusian Vyzhyvanka, created in 2020, in which she uses traditional Belarusian embroidery to document the events and protests in Belarus. Bazlova holds a Master’s degree in Illustration and Graphic Design from the University of West Bohemia, as well as a degree in Scenography from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
The programme also included an Artist Talk with Belarusian artist Rufina Bazlova. The conversation focused on her artistic practice, her work with traditional Belarusian embroidery, and the ways in which cultural heritage can become a means of reflecting on contemporary history and collective memory.
The event brought together film and contemporary art, creating a space to reflect on memory, identity, cultural heritage, and artistic practices in the context of Belarus.
︎︎︎ Aliaksei Paluyan
Aliaksei Paluyan is a Belarusian filmmaker, born in 1989. In 2012, he moved to Germany, where he studied Film and Television Directing at the Kunsthochschule Kassel. His documentary Courage (2021), which follows members of the Belarus Free Theatre during the 2020 protests, premiered at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival and was later screened at major international film festivals. Paluyan is also the founder of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy and a member of the European Film Academy.
︎︎︎ Rufina Bazlova
Rufina Bazlova is a Belarusian artist, born in 1990 in Hrodna and based in Prague. Her multidisciplinary practice includes embroidery, illustration, performance and scenography. She gained international recognition for her series The History of Belarusian Vyzhyvanka, created in 2020, in which she uses traditional Belarusian embroidery to document the events and protests in Belarus. Bazlova holds a Master’s degree in Illustration and Graphic Design from the University of West Bohemia, as well as a degree in Scenography from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
