'Not Made for Politics' Courtesy of PÖFF Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment If you ever find yourself wanting to make a documentary about a revolution but you can't be there in person, you may want to ask Volia Chajkouskaya for insight. The Belarusian filmmaker emigrated to Estonia in 2018, and she will world premiere her feature documentary Not Made for Politics in its capital, Tallinn, on Saturday. Screening in the Doc@PÖFF Baltic Competition program of the 29th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), the film tells the story of three women who have emerged as central figures speaking out against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko during the 2020 uprising and beyond - and of the filmmaker herself. 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"While thousands in Minsk rose up against the brutal regime of Alexander Lukashenko and rallied behind opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Volia Chajkouskaya felt the same pulse across borders. Unable to return home, she became both observer and participant, organising solidarity actions in Tallinn and gradually stepping into her own film as a subject." THR asked Chajkouskaya about the genesis of Not Made for Politics, her views on a potential regime change, dictatorships around the globe, and Why did you want to make this film and take us inside the story of women defying the Belarusian regime of Alexander Lukashenko? When the protests in Belarus in 2020 started, I was in Tallinn finishing my studies. But I was also actively involved in the volunteer activist movement to support free and fair elections in Belarus. I was very hopeful in the beginning, because out of the blue, there were many strong candidates for the presidency. I was like wow, in a country where there is no freedom of speech, there is finally some hope - there are new faces, new candidates who are eager to make a change for the better. But then, unfortunately, almost all major male candidates were either arrested or pushed outside the country. But luckily Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, one of my film's main characters, came on stage to take the place of her arrested husband Siarhei Tsikhanouskya and continue his presidential campaign. She was so brave to do it, despite the danger and having no experience whatsoever. Then more women joined Sviatlana and supported her campaign. It was so inspiring and unprecedented! It became symbolic, powerful, even artistic! And more "ordinary" women were organizing female marches after the election day on August 9th, when the regime killed several people, injured and arrested hundreds, and organized a three-day internet blackout... Women went out on the streets [in] massive [numbers] to protect the men, who apparently suffered the most from the police violence, and expressed their protest. After female marches, which became iconic in the Belarusian revolution 2020, of course, the regime started to arrest women too and torture them too, the same as men. Not Made for Politics For me, looking into the story of specifically female resistance against patriarchal tyranny was the most inspiring [theme]. Belarus, in terms of statistics, might look like a progressive country in terms of women's rights and women's presence. I.e., there are a lot of women in the Belarusian parliament, a huge percentage of women are getting higher education in Belarus. But do women really have the power in parliament? I mean, men who oppose Lukashenko don't have the power there either, but you get what I mean, right? We are talking about a dictatorship. It's all "marketing' of the regime to sell Belarus as a democratic country to the West. In the film, I wanted to look into this juxtaposition when women, wives of political prisoners, stand up to protect their husbands to somehow dissolve this myth of women being weak and passive, which exists a lot in my homeland. I love how the title Not Made for Politics and the film itself also share your personal story and the struggle with the traditions of women being expected to remain silent. How much of