From Variety · Nick Vivarelli · · 1m 20s
A Belarus documentary wins at Venice
Five lives under state repression carried a Belarusian director to a Golden Globes prize at Venice.
In brief
Five lives under state repression carried a Belarusian director to a Golden Globes prize at Venice. The Golden Globes Impact Prize rewards documentary work that puts a social issue on the record, and this year it went to a film about life under Belarusian state violence. Originally reported by Variety.
A quiet film takes the prize
Andrei Kutsila's "Letters from the Silenced Country" won the Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary at the Venice Film Festival.
Five lives, one country
The film follows five people in contemporary Belarus whose ordinary lives were broken apart by state violence and political repression.
The director behind it
Kutsila is Belarusian, filming his own country from inside a system that punishes the act of recording it.
Who gives the award
The Golden Globes present the prize in partnership with the Artemis Rising Foundation, a funder focused on social impact storytelling.
What the jury looks for
It goes to a documentary in the official Venice selection that raises a key social issue with both journalistic rigor and craft.
“calls attention to a key social issue with journalistic and creative prowess”
A collateral award at Venice
The prize sits outside the main competition as a collateral impact award, handed out during the 2026 festival.
At a glance
The Golden Globes Impact Prize rewards documentary work that puts a social issue on the record, and this year it went to a film about life under Belarusian state violence.
