PROCESSES

Recurrent election fraud. The beating down of peaceful protests. Arbitrary imprisonment of the innocent. These are the departure points for Andrei Kashperski's film, which features extraordinary camerawork. In four episodes, Belarus' recent history, from the 2020 protests against Lukashenka to the war in Ukraine, is portrayed satirically. With prisons overflowing, a member of a dreaded special forces unit detains demonstrators in his family's two-room apartment, an act of pragmatism ensuring that cohabitation will involve new twists. Moustachioed men with painted-on grins welcome students on a trip to KGB headquarters. Their peculiar working method elicits wide-eyed looks, not always in a positive sense. A group of tired state ministers suffering from collective nightmares since the protests began interpret their dreams collaboratively, till they come up with a strategy for coping with anxieties regarding their professional and private futures. Zoya's life is also marked by worry. In the mistaken belief that her son has been unwittingly caught up in the war, she petitions the state for assistance, and the authorities attempt to get to the bottom of the matter. But are her concerns preventing everyone from getting a clear view of reality? This vicious satire may help to cope with the serious subject matter.