“Documentary film should become a separate discipline”: the opinion of the expert of the festival “Eurasia.DOC”

Member of the jury and expert of the International Festival "Eurasia.DOC" Vladimir Sergienko met with the audience and spoke about documentary film, his own evaluation criteria at a discussion meeting in the House of Moscow, the correspondent of the agency "Minsk-Novosti".

The anniversary X festival “Eurasia.DOC” in Minsk surprises not only with documentary films from different countries, but also with live meetings with experts. Sergienko’s activities go far beyond the film industry. A member of the jury is a writer, political scientist, public figure and TV presenter.

I believe that there is only one criterion of documentary: whether or not it is understood. In my opinion, documentary films should be introduced into the school system. A feature film with effects, explosions, music, of course, can tear the soul and bring to tears. But real documentary film should become a separate discipline. Then a person will have something in his head about animals, the Arctic, and mothers who lost their sons on the battlefields, Sergienko said.

The speaker also named three of his favorites for the festival. The first film deals with the theme of mother and homeland, the second deals with questions of faith, and the third tells about the animal world and the life of the zoo.

- I believe that we need to expand our worldview, look for our own meanings and values. In documentary, we look to the past, but in reality we are always here and now. Such films help to take a new look at history and what is happening around us, the expert added.

The discussion hall gathered dozens of spectators - among them were representatives of the BRSM, members of the Iskra Youth Movement of the White Rus party and participants of other organizations. The guests were actively involved in the conversation, asked questions, shared their thoughts and together reflected on cinema, history and modernity.

- From his youth he followed the film industry, more, of course, the European one. For the first time I had this experience, I visited a film festival. I was surprised by what is happening in the industry. At the same time, I learned many interesting historical facts and causal relationships. I feel the pleasure of being able to visit here, the viewer Kirill shared his impressions.

Moderator Alexei skillfully involved young viewers in the dialogue, raised topical topics related to the film industry, demographics and politics. The conversation gradually expanded beyond cinema itself, allowing guests to look at documentary film more broadly and discuss its impact on the perception of history and the modern world.

- I try to attend the premieres of various film festivals, to be interested in culture and documentary films. Today's dialogue was very capacious. I liked this format of communication: questions from the audience, topics that people really care about and are discussed today. Somewhere it is even very emotional, I want to ask my questions. Moreover, there was a great opportunity to hear a person who not only talks about something from the standpoint of theory, but shares his own life experience. This is what makes such a meeting especially interesting, said the viewer Juliana.

Photo by Sergei Lukashov