Thematic meeting «The Origins of Belarusian Cinema. Archives»

On March 20, 2025, a thematic meeting «The Origins of Belarusian Cinema. Archives» was held in the small hall of the Pioneer cinema (Minsk). It was dedicated to the anniversaries of the founders of Belarusian cinema – Yu. V.Tarich and U. V.Korsh-Sablin. It was organized by the joint efforts of the Belarusian State Archives and Museum of Literature and Art (hereinafter – BSAMLI), the Letapis film studio and the administration of the Pioneer cinema with the aim of patriotic education of youth, popularization of the history of cinema, familiarization with the activities of archives as keepers of national memory. A thematic meeting is a comprehensive event that allows using various approaches to attract attention, establish cooperation and, most importantly, its further development. In this case, the program included an archival presentation, a round table of experts and a joint screening of the documentary film «The Trust That Did Not Burst». The event was attended not only by specialists in the field of archival science and film studies, but also by representatives of the media, Minsk schoolchildren – fans of Belarusian cinema, students of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts.

The host and moderator was the director of the BGAMLI E.A.Makarenko. The well-known Belarusian film director Yu.I.Timofeev addressed the participants with a welcoming speech, and via videoconference – the editor-in-chief of the film studio «Kazakhfilm» Bekbulat Shekerov. Leading researcher of the department of information, publication and use of documents of the BGAMLI D.S.Samokhvalov presented an electronic presentation of the documents of Yu.V.Tarich and V.V.Korsh-Sablin in the repositories of the archive-museum and told those present about the important role of Belarusian archives in the study of the history of cinema. The speakers of the round table, the head of the screen arts department of the Center for the Study of Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus A.A.Karpilova and the member of the Presidium of the Belarusian Union of Cinematographers V.A.Stepanova shared their memories and thoughts about the peculiarities of the development of Belarusian cinema, the relevance of cooperation between researchers, filmmakers and teachers with archives, in particular with the BGAMLI. Archivists and film scholars discussed controversial issues in the history of cinema and the importance of their further interdisciplinary and intersectoral development, answered questions from journalists and young participants of the meeting. The documentary film «The Trust That Didn’t Burst», dedicated to the centenary of Belarusian cinema, concluded the event.

An important result of the meeting was not only joint discussions, but also positive impressions of the participants. After the end, E.A.Makarenko and the BGAMLI employees who were present received numerous verbal thanks from filmmakers, schoolchildren and students.

1. Host and moderator of the thematic meeting, Director of BGAMLI E.A.Makarenko

2. During the thematic meeting «Origins of Belarusian Cinema. Archives»

3. Leading researcher of the Department of Information, Publication and Use of Documents of BGAMLI D.S.Samokhvalov

4. Speaker of the round table V.A.Stepanova

5. Speaker of the round table A.A.Karpilova