Minsk Welcomes 32nd Listapad International Film Festival

Final preparations are underway at Minsk’s Moscow Cinema ahead of the opening of the 32nd Listapad International Film Festival. This year, the event has drawn guests from 55 countries.

Festival chairman and People’s Artist of Belarus Alexander Yefremov calls Listapad a professional celebration for filmmakers—one that has become an integral part of the country’s cultural life.

“The festival has been around for so many years. It has grown up, and there has hardly been a year without it. There were a few breaks, but fortunately, they are behind us. This truly is, above all, our celebration of cinema,” Yefremov said. He noted that the festival has maintained close ties with Belarus’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs since its early days.

The festival opens with the Russian-Belarusian film Father Minai: A Partisan Legend. According to Yefremov, the choice was a natural one, as no other Belarusian films are competing in the main programme this year. The film has also drawn interest for the appearance of actor Alexei Kravchenko, who starred as a child in Elem Klimov’s Come and See.

“It will be fascinating to see him now, as an adult. That, of course, is an event in itself,” Yefremov said.

Journalists have described the role as a symbolic return. Yefremov sees the film as more than a wartime drama.

“We live in a country next to which a terrible, devastating war is being fought. Barriers are being built along our borders from every direction—first to shut us out, and then, perhaps, to move against us. We are living in an age of wars, of enormous wars,” he said.

In Yefremov’s view, the subject of war will never cease to matter to Belarusians.

“It will always be with us. It is in this people’s blood and history. And thank goodness we are beginning with this film. War has not gone away; it is close to us. We must remember it and watch films about it,” he stressed.

The festival chairman added that the state is taking concrete steps to prevent escalation, while emphasizing the importance of remaining aware of potential risks.

This year, Listapad brings together filmmakers from around the world. Yefremov said cinema can help advance peace and mutual understanding—and that the festival could make this idea one of its guiding principles.