The contest brought together 32 short animated films, with the Belarusian entry being 13 minutes long. The Golden Eagle victory is our first at the prestigious forum, although Belarus’ animated film industry is 42 years old. The film’s director, Yelena Petkevich, was uncertain of the idea initially but her childhood recollections of Bach and his music helped her bring the film to life in a poetic and romantic manner.
Oleg Silvanovich, the Director General of the Belarusfilm National Film Studio, is confident that more awards are in store for the cartoon, which is to take part in at least 15 film festivals. The musical biopic is part of a transnational educational series entitled Tales from an Old Piano — a joint project by Belarusfilm and Russia’s Mir Studio. Two more films in the series are being released in late autumn: Russia’s Debussy and Belarus’ Chopin.
The annual Golden Eagle awards are Russia’s answer to the Oscars. Karen Shakhnazarov’s White Tiger, about the Great Patriotic War, has been named the best film of 2012 while Andrey Proshkin has been awarded as best director for Orda. Danila Kozlovsky (starring in the Dukhless) is best actor while Anna Mikhalkova (Love with an Accent) is best actress.
