I’m Ivan, You’re Abraham (Я — Іван, ты — Абрам) is a 1993 French–Belarusian film. It is in Belarusian, Polish, and Yiddish. The film was Belarus’s 1994 submission to the Academy Awards for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film (and one of only two films independent Belarus has ever submitted). The film takes place in […]

Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus is a 2014 documentary about the Belarusian Free Theatre, an underground theater and political opposition group in Belarus. It was produced by HBO but is partly in Belarusian. The theater has been operating since 2005. It uses art as a means of resistance, putting on plays that highlight the […]

Baltic View is a new project that aims to get films from the Baltics—both documentary and feature—to a wider audience. The project currently consists of 12 films uploaded on the video-sharing site Vimeo. In the founders’ own words, the project “is a pioneering international project presenting films from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia under one cinema flag.” […]

Viking (Викинг) is a 2016 Russian historical action film. Directed by Andrey Kravchuk (Андрей Кравчук), the film is loosely based on the Primary Chronicle, the earliest known written history of Rus’, and the Icelandic King’s Sagas. It has been dubbed “Russia’s Game of Thrones” by Screen International for its dark cinematography and its medieval storyline […]

Earthquake (Землетрясение) is a 2016 historical drama by Russian–Armenian director Sarik Andreasyan (Сарик Андреасян). The film depicts the massive earthquake, and its aftermath, that shook Armenia on December 7, 1988. Starring Konstantin Lavronenko (Константин Лавроненко), Mariya Mironova (Мария Миронова), Viktor Stepanyan (Виктор Степанян), and Tatev Ovakimyan (Татев Овакимян), the film has seen a lot of […]

Hedgehog in the Fog (Ёжик в тумане) is a 1975 Soviet short animated film. It’s rather dark and philosophical, and not exactly meant for children; but even if you can’t understand every word, it’s beautiful and fascinating enough to be worth a watch. The film was directed by Yuriy Norshtein (Юрий Норштейн), a very well-known […]

The Adventures of Captain Vrungel (Приключения капитана Врунгеля) is a Soviet Russian-language cartoon. It aired between 1976 and 1979 and consists of 13 episodes, each about 10 minutes. It tells of the adventures of the eponymous Captain Vrungel—through song and dance as well as standard narration. The series is based on the book of the […]

Day Watch (Дневной дозор) is the 2005 sequel to the incredibly popular 2004 Night Watch (Ночной дозор). Both are Russian fantasy films. Day Watch is also based on the series of novels by Sergei Lukyanenko (Сергей Лукьяненко), but it is based less on the second novel, also titled Day Watch, and more on the second […]

Prostokvashino (Простоквашино) is a series of three animated children’s cartoons from the Soviet Union. The episodes are “Three from Prostokvashino” (“Трое из Простоквашино,” 1978), “Vacations in Prostokvashino” (“Каникулы в Простоквашино,” 1980), and “Winter in Prostokvashino” (“Зима в Простоквашино,” 1984). Each is a little less than 20 minutes. They are based on the story “Uncle Fyodor, Dog, […]