‘Northern Lights’ Film Festival supporting Belarusian film industry takes place with EU support

From 20 to 30 November, The Northern Lights Nordic-Baltic Film Festival, co-funded by the European Union within the EU4Culture project, took place online and offline in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Tallinn, Estonia.

This year’s ‘Northern Lights’ Film Festival was held under the slogan ‘Feels like home’ and referred to the stories of many Belarusians and Ukrainians, who had to leave their homes and seek safety, peace and new homes abroad. The programme comprised 29 films, including 15 from Nordic and Baltic countries, three films of a special programme ‘Ukraine mon amour’, made in co-production between Ukraine and the Nordic and Baltic countries, as well as 11 Belarusian independent films in the Belarusian competition.

The winner of the Belarusian competition is ‘MARA’, directed by Sasha Kulak. As described by the Jury, the film is “a unique and beautiful film that blends documentary storytelling with fantasy to explore a very relevant and important topic. In addition to giving injustice a voice, it also makes room for imagination.”

The Northern Lights Nordic-Baltic Film Festival is an annual festival that introduces to the Belarusian audience all the best and newest fiction and non-fiction films from Northern Europe, the Baltic countries, and Belarus. The festival supports the further development of the Belarusian film industry and empowers Belarusian creators.

The festival was one of the selected projects in the ‘EU4Culture call for cultural and cross-innovation projects’ and received a €25,000 grant for technical support. 

The new selection of projects lasting up to a year and amounting from €3,000 to €25,000 is planned for Spring 2023. The call and other similar opportunities can be found here.

The Northern Lights Nordic-Baltic Film Festival