‘Under the Hood’, an Irish documentary examining the hardships of life in Belarus, will have its Dublin premiere in the IFI this Sunday 7th July - followed by a Q&A with one of its directors Mark Byrne.
The film, which was shot in secrecy, combines interviews with footage of protests and secret opposition meetings in the capital Minsk - in a country where the secret police are still known as the KGB and public gatherings are considered a crime.
Mark Byrne and Rob Dennis directed, with Byrne also responsible for photography and Dennis for editing.
The film was produced by Bartolomeo Dibenedetto, Jeremiah Cullinane, and Rasa Miškinyte, and music was composed by Martynas Bialobžeskis.
A co-production between Planet Korda Pictures and ERA Film, ‘Under The Hood’ focuses on the lack of social justice and civil rights afforded citizens in the former Soviet Republic as told through the voices of ordinary Belarusians.
Featured characters include poor farmers who support the country’s President Lukashenko and opponents of his regime including a journalist whose reporting has caused her to be arrested, interrogated, beaten and kept under constant surveillance - forcing her to live ‘under the hood’ or off the KGB’s radar.
‘Under the Hood’ was supported by the Irish Film Board; Media Broadcast Fund; and the German Marshall Fund of the United States along with MDR (Germany), TVP (Poland), ERR (Estonia), LTV (Latvia), LRT (Lithuania), Belsat (Belarus), and TG4.
To view the trailer, click on the link below:
