President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko has convened a meeting on the national cinematography development as he visited the Belarusfilm National Film Studio today, June 10th
photo: www.president.gov.by
Anticipating the discussion of the agenda, the Head of State noted that the decision to hold a meeting on the development of national cinematography was long overdue. “I will say bluntly that the state of affairs at the film studio and in the industry as a whole is extremely unsatisfactory. The state has created conditions for the development of national cinematography and Belarusfilm, but the returns are still below zero. They are negative, and neither the state nor the audience sees the results. For most Belarusians, our film production ended with August of 1944th... and The Brest Fortress. There is just nothing to watch! The family, youth, and children's audiences have been completely lost, and I do not want to be told how much you have ‘progressed’ in your work with the audience and organised screenings for labour collectives,” Aleksandr Lukashenko addressed the meeting participants.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus is a small country in terms of population to expect profit from video circulation. “However, if we produce a good film, I am sure that we will make a profit domestically as well. Meanwhile, we cannot sell our products abroad, because we do not have them. Moreover, the competition is serious,” he said.
As noted by the President, Belarusfilm was completely modernised with new technological equipment some time ago. “Huge investments have been made. The advance money allocated by the state to the Belarusian cinema has not been worked out,” he stressed.
