1. DAB Harmonisation Project Cross-Border and International Film Co-production Belarus - Some Observations and Questions

2. Belarus - Looking from the Outside: Some Observations and Questions Two dominating 'players' in the Belarus film industry: the State and Russian film and TV business - de facto monopoly position of Belarusfilm, which this year absorbed another state studio, Belarusvideo - all commissioning and production stages politically controlled and monitored by the State (causing film-making to be driven by 'official approvals' rather than by audience demands or market considerations?) - huge influence of Russian market and Russian business in terms of distribution, use of production facilities, financing and co-production activity 2

3. Belarus - Looking from the Outside: Some Observations and Questions Important Belarus film industry features include: - continuation of a mainly ‘Soviet’ model for the film industry - production focused heavily on the Russian domestic market - problem of ageing equipment and personnel exacerbated by a 'talent drain' to Russia and elsewhere - predictability issues in the professional and business environment for potential investors and non-Russian foreign partners - apparent lack of producers, screenwriters, young directors and also of an open and developed professional critical environment that contributes to the development of new talent and new creative directions 3

4. Belarus - Looking from the Outside: Some Observations and Questions Important Belarus film industry features also include: - wider identity and language issues affect cinema as they do other aspects of Belarusian cultural direction and development e.g. There is a policy vacuum in terms of the support (common in virtually all European countries) for the nurturing of a specifically 'Belarusian national cinema' - lack of private investment - independent and art-house product has no access to tax-payer/public funding nor to the distribution system (notwithstanding the 2012 Presidential Decree) - for last couple of years young, independent, sometimes radical, filmmakers producing short films but needing to take them abroad for exhibition e.g. to festivals such as Warsaw's Bulbamovie 4

5. Belarus - Looking from the Outside: Some Observations and Questions Three key aspects of Belarus' current international co-production activity: 1. Belarusfilm mainly seems to specialise in providing technical facilities for Russian co-productions, in particular TV series 2. This follows a basic co-production model of 'Russian funding and business plan+Russian stars+low-cost Belarusian technical assistance and personnel+Russian domestic TV market' 3. New developments e.g. a Cannes National Pavilion and Belarus involvement in the Latvia-Estonia co-production 'Lonely Island' (2012) and the Russia-Finland-German co-production 'The Role' (2013) 5

6. Belarus - Looking from the Outside: Some Observations and Questions Some questions: 1. What is the significance and what will be the longer-term impact of (a) the appearance of the first Belarus national pavilion at Cannes in 2012? (b) Belarus involvement in projects such as 'Lonely Island' and 'The Role'? (c) the Presidential Decree of January 2012 allowing registered studios irrespective of their ownership in principle to seek state support? 2. In terms of 1(b), do such projects represent a future potential new model of Belarusian international co-operation and what exactly have been the Belarus inputs in terms of project concept, commissioning, artistic content, finance, technical provision and distribution? 6

7. Belarus - Looking from the Outside: Some Observations and Questions 3. To what extent is there any justification for the description by some critics that Belarus's state-managed, state-controlled film industry and film talent is little more than simply a low-cost Russian facility? If, for example, this situation may be at least one aspect of the system, what are the trends in relation to this? 4. With regard to locally-produced Belarusian product, to what extent are there any weaknesses in the state distribution and film exhibition system, and with reproduction capacities (e.g. DVDs), which seem to be dominated by Russian companies? 7

8. Belarus - Looking from the Outside: Some Observations and Questions 6. Finally to what extent does Belarus‘s totally non-privatised 'State monopoly' model (unlike in the Russian Federation, for example) (a) produce the 'talent drain', especially of the younger and next generation of filmmakers and cinema professionals? (b) stifle creativity and fail to take advantage of the audio-visual technical revolution of recent times? (c) in modern international co-production terms, offer partnership which is too inflexible and bureaucratic? (d) inevitably condemn Belarus to being a limited 'junior' partner in any co-production either in terms of the Russian co- production 'model' or in terms of any new or future developments in Belarus's international co-production activity? 8

9. Thank you for your attention and for any comments on what were intended to be constructive observations and questions in the context of a wider, personal interest in seeing greater Belarus engagement in European projects and co-operation Terry Sandell Director, Cultural Futures LLP Senior Associate, St Antony's College, Oxford University E-mail: terry.sandell@cultural-futures.orgterry.sandell@cultural-futures.org Tel. +44 (0) 7966 561498 9