Winners of the "Red Heather" Film Critics' Award Announced
The winners of the Belarusian Film Critics' Award "Red Heather" were announced at the award ceremony held on February 28 at the Luna cinema in Warsaw.
The best Belarusian films and filmmakers of 2023 and 2024 were recognized in the following nominations:
"Best Feature Film"
- "Under a Grey Sky" by Mara Tamkovich
"Best Short Fiction Film"
- "Say Cheese" by Kira Alsheuska
"Best Feature Documentary"
- "Homeland" by Hanna Badziaka and Aliaksandr Mikhalovich
"Best Short Documentary"
- "Holy Water" by Andrei Kutsila
"Best Animated Film"
- "Blood and Karaoke" by Yury Siamashka
"Best Documentary Reportage"
- "No Retouching: Siarhei Pukst" by Aliaksandr Haradko and Kanapliova+Leidzik
"Best Director"
- Hanna Badziaka and Aliaksandr Mikhalovich for the film "Homeland"
"Best Actor"
- Valiantsin Navapolski for his role in the film "Under a Grey Sky"
"Best Actress"
- Aliaksandra Vaitsiakhovich for her role in the film "Under a Grey Sky"
"Best Cinematography"
- Siarhei Kanaplianik for the film "Homeland"
"Best Screenplay"
- Andrei Kashperski and Mikhail Zuy for the film "Processes"
"Best Artistic Direction (Production Designer's Work)"
- Aliaksandr Adamau for the film "Processes"
"Best Editing"
- Illia Bazhko for the film "Processes"
"Best Sound Design (Composer's and/or Sound Engineer's Work)"
- The project "Cross-cultural Musical Dialogue" for the film "Magic Scissors"
"Discovery of the Year"
- Anonymous Participant
Two "Special Mentions" were also awarded:
- To the creators of the film "Magic Scissors" — "For diligent work — the collection, preservation, and restoration of a lost part of our heritage — the culture of Belarusian Jewry, and through them — for complementing and enriching Belarusian identity";
- To Belarusian political prisoners — "In honor of numerous political prisoners and their tragic fates, which do not allow directors to remain silent and compel them to tell the world about contemporary Belarus and its traumatic past."
The jury of "Red Heather '26" included 20 experts: co-founders and organizers of the film award Irena Katsialovich and Taras Tarnalitsky, as well as journalists, film critics, film scholars, and film researchers Natallia Vavilonava, Maksim Zhbankou, Volha Isakova, Sasha Razor, Uliana Rubanava, Ihar Sukmanau, Almira Usmanava, Hanna Yafremenka. Some jury members remain anonymous for security reasons.