“Batska Minai” wins the Listapad Grand Prix. The film will be released in cinemas in February 2027

On 6 November, the closing ceremony of the 32nd Minsk International Film Festival "Listapad" took place at the Moskva cinema in Minsk. The top award, the Grand Prix "Golden Listapad" for best feature film, went to the Belarusian-Russian war drama "Batska Minai. Partisan Legend", directed by Igor Ugolnikov.

The film will be released in Belarusian cinemas in February 2027. The exact date and the list of cities have not yet been announced.

First. The winner. The film was made by the studios Belarusfilm and Voenfilm; the lead role is played by Alexey Kravchenko. The Ministry of Culture announced the Grand Prix on the day of the ceremony. The film was shown at the very start of the festival, and it was decided not to repeat the screening.

Actress and the film's creative producer Yelena Dubrovskaya stated that she had worked on the film for more than three years and that the audience applauded for twenty minutes at the opening. Actors Sergey Lapanitsyn and Yana Khodanovich-Lapanitsyna said they had played husband and wife for the first time. Ekaterina Klimova, who attended the premiere, praised the film highly.

The Council for the Development of Cinematography backed the making of the film in January 2024.

Second. The closing film. Usually it is the future Grand Prix winner, but this time it turned out differently. The festival was closed by the dramedy "That Very Child" from Myanmar, which received the Prize of the President of Belarus "For Humanism and Spirituality in Cinema".

Director Aung Myat said he had come to Minsk for the first time and that the film, about the relationship between a father and daughter in an ordinary family, shows the family values of his country.

Third. The scale. The festival ran from 30 October to 6 November. During that time there were 82 screenings, showing 139 films from 55 countries; about 10 thousand viewers attended in Minsk and the regions. The organisers received more than 3 thousand applications, and the competition had 8 programmes.

Fourth. The other awards. In total, 38 awards were presented across the 8 competition programmes. "Three Sisters" by Konstantin Bronzit was named best film of the main competition. Chinese filmmakers received prizes for directing and cinematography, and an Indian film was recognised for its music. The Israeli film "The Wedding Artist" received the Audience Award and the award for best male role.

Fifth. Special prizes. In the Year of the Belarusian Woman, the Ministry of Culture's Margarita Kasymova Prize "For Spiritual Strength" was presented for the first time: it went to Egyptian director Atef Shokri for the film "She". In the national competition, "Polesie Reserve: Life After Chernobyl" by Igor Byshnev was named best non-fiction film, and the jury singled out "Nadya, Forward!" by Anastasia Mulyarova.

Sixth. Diplomas and the medal. The special diploma "Memory of Time" went to the film "Return" by Nadezhda Gabets, and the diploma "A Voice That Is Heard" to "Optina of White Rus" by Anton Efimenko. The cinematographer of "Batska Minai" also received a jury diploma. By decree of the President, Nikolai Burlyaev was awarded the Francysk Skaryna Medal.