Volha Nikalaichyk: Khash

An envelope arrived with a dvd. Posted in Lithuania by Volha Nikalaichyk, a woman from Belarus, producer of documentary films, and many times a participant in workshops in Eastern Europe, outside her own country, where I also met her once, years ago, in Minsk, capital of Belarus, a country led by Lukashenko. I had no idea about the content of the dvd but guessed that it could have something to do with Yuri Khashchavatski.

It had, Volha – calling herself one of Khash’s disciples – had made a film about her master, the film director who turned 60 last year and has made more than 30 films, many of which deal with life in Belarus and the tough militant dictatorship of the president, as seen for instance in ”The Square” that has been texted about on filmkommentaren.dk

In this wonderfully unpretentious film (title written on the dvd: Cinema and Cutlets) with Khash (nickname) and his very close friend, the singer, actor etc. Zhora Melski, the two of them go shopping and return home to prepare a meal which is inspired – as I got it – by the native town of Khash, Odessa. The director talks us through the film with clips from his films, those that were, and the ones to come, among them ”Searching for Yiddish”, where Khash declares his love to the painter Soutine, and in general to why he makes documentary films: to learn about something new, not to preach. My films are not political, he says… well, you taught me about Belarus and Chechnya (”Prisoners of Caucasus”) but I want to see more of your films. In other words, a retrospective must be organised for this important documentarian, a man who enjoys Life, as the film shows. Thank you Volha.

Bramafilm, 2008, 70 mins.
Lon7volha@gmail.com