The Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents (BSAMLI) participated in the roundtable discussion «Images of the Great Victory in Literature and Cinema»

On November 4, 2025, a roundtable discussion entitled «Images of the Great Victory in Literature and Cinema» was held at the House of Writers as part of the Listapad International Film Festival. The discussion was organized by the Union of Cinematographers, the Union of Writers, the Screen Arts Department of the Center for Research of Belarusian Culture, Language, and Literature of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents. The main issue discussed at the roundtable was the interaction between film and literature as two different but complementary art forms that shape the representation of the war for new generations. Archives, as centers for preserving social memory, are not only sources of information about the past but also have their own positive experience in communicating it to contemporary society.

During the roundtable discussion, the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents presented unique film materials from its collections. Dmitry Samokhvalov, a leading researcher at the Belarusian State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art (hereinafter referred to as BGAMLI), in his paper «The Microhistory of a Film Epic», using the filming of Vitaly Chetverikov’s «Flame» (1974) as an example, demonstrated how archive-museum documents can be innovatively used to more clearly depict the perceptions and experiences of people of the past.

The presentation by Elena Makarenko, Director of BGAMLI, during the discussions generated considerable interest. She highlighted the significant potential of archival collections for researchers, writers, and filmmakers. A key outcome of the roundtable was the discussion of possible joint projects between BGAMLI and representatives of scientific and public organizations, as well as writers and filmmakers.

1. E.A.Makarenko, Director of the Belarusian State Academy of Film and Television, prepares for a speech.

2. D.S.Samokhvalov explores new literary releases.

3. A.A.Karpilova, Head of the Screen Arts Department at the Center for Belarusian Cultural Studies, presents the book «Watch and Remember. The Great Patriotic War in Belarusian Cinema».