Crew
ANDREI VAITOVICH
DIRECTOR
“I’m a journalist/editor and member of the International Federation of Journalists. I was born in Belarus, started writing for a local newspaper at 15, and later moved to Lithuania for continue my studies. I’ve lived across Europe, settling in France, where I have worked for RFI, RFE/RL & Voice of America and Euronews. Motivated by human interest stories, I decided to make something greater than the standard two-minute TV package. This project, inspired by personal experiences, is also a way to recover from its traumas.”
ANDREI MATALYHA
CAMERA
“I graduated from the Baltic Film and Media School (Estonia) and have worked on professional film sets, as well as making commercials and corporate videos. My main interest is documentary cinematography. This location of this feature film has a unique atmosphere, and even during pre-production we had met a very strong lineup of characters there. This story has to be told in very strong, visual language.”
JAN SUPA
EDITOR
“I’m a half-Belarusian freelance video editor and theatre videographer from Lithuania. This film is important because the issue of AIDS in Eastern Europe has been vastly under-reported. There remain many myths and social stigmas associated with the condition, and it is crucial to talk about it, disseminating information, so that people truly realize that AIDS is not a death sentence.”
YANA LIASHKOVICH
RESEARCHER
“I’m an editor at the Baltic edition of Novaya Gazeta. I grew up in Belarus and know the social context of the country. This film is highly important as it gives a sense of the AIDS issue in Eastern Europe. For Belarusians, the town of Svietlahorsk is notorious as a “no-go zone” due to the HIV epidemic there. For many years, we have witnessed how media clichés have replaced people and their tragedies. It is now time to make a change.”
DENIS PETRINA
RESEARCHER
“I am a PhD candidate in philosophy at the Lithuanian Culture Research Institute. My academic interests include the body, subjectivity, as well as social and political equality. I truly believe the issue of AIDS in a marginal European town, which Andrei addresses in his movie, is crucially important. While in Western Europe people with AIDS have overcome social exclusion and are equal members of the society, it is painful to admit that in Eastern Europe (and my homeland is no exception) these individuals are still neglected, ignored and stigmatized. Andrei’s movie is not only a means to establish an international dialogue and draw global attention to this atrocious fact, but is also an attempt to give a voice to those who have too long been deprived of it.”
NASTYA SHIRALIYEVA
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
“I’m a journalist and copywriter, writing since I was 16. I come from the same town as Andrei, where we first met. My main focus is social issues, medicine and healthcare. Recently, I decided to give graphic design a try. I’m delighted to be a part of this socially-important project, and I hope this story will be heard by as many people as possible.”
FLORIAN LETELLIER
TECHNICAL MANAGER
“I’m a software developer. I was raised in northern France where social instability is high. I realized that Andrei and I share similarities in our backgrounds, and this is why I wanted to be part of this project. Life can be tough anywhere in the world, but when you see this small town, you start thinking that some places on Earth still have a long way to go… I hope that this film will make these problems more visible and effect changes in the short term.”
THOMAS AURIEL
PHOTO
“I’m an engineer and photographer. I realized this topic was not properly covered, and was in fact unknown to the general public. It shows how many years after discovering HIV, the virus still causes an array of issues, with people ending up with late-stage AIDS in some part of the world, just a few hours away from other European capitals. It’s totally unimaginable in today’s Western world. These stories have to be documented.”
