“VODBLISK does what state institutions do in European countries”

“We’re launching VODBLISK” — with these words on Instagram over a year ago, the journey of an online cinema began, one that set out with a clear mission: to popularize independent Belarusian cinema.

The name of the project reflects its essence: VODBLISK brings together modern independent films by Belarusian directors in one place, offering a snapshot of what cinema created outside of “Belarusfilm” looks like today. The platform was founded by producer, director, and Northern Lights Film Festival director Volia Chajkouskaya.

Creating films that exist beyond the borders of their home country, without any state support, is no easy task. And promoting such films — aiming to make them popular among a target audience scattered across the globe — is a challenge of an entirely different level.

Yet in just a year, VODBLISK has added more than 25 films to its catalog, and its social media platforms are regularly updated with educational content about Belarusian cinema. The online cinema features films of various genres and lengths, offering something for every taste — from dramas to horror. And the number of titles continues to grow every month. With this, the creators continue to prove: Belarusian cinema is alive — and it has something to offer its audience.

But behind this “beautiful picture” lies a great deal of hard work, difficulties, and challenges that must be overcome.

“There are actually quite a lot of challenges,” admits VODBLISK founder Volia Chajkouskaya. “I would divide them into several main categories: technical, creative, marketing, and financial.”

According to the filmmaker, the technical challenges are related to the platform, which is based on Vimeo — and that brings certain limitations. For example, there’s no way to customize the ticket purchase or film viewing experience.

Volia lists the lack of high-quality independent films as one of the creative challenges:

“For decades, Belarusian cinema didn’t have funding, distribution, or proper marketing. Because of this, even the great films that were made under extremely limited conditions didn’t get the attention they deserved. And now we’ve ended up in a situation where there is essentially no Belarusian film industry: there’s no funding — meaning no money for production — which discourages people from entering the profession, and as a result, there’s no production, and nothing to show.”

Another difficulty is the issue of film rights. Since the platform currently does not collaborate with state institutions, that also limits which films can be included in the VODBLISK catalog.

In many ways, current processes are directly shaped by the overall state of Belarusian cinema. As cultural critic Maksim Zhbankov vividly described in one of his essays:

“Belarusian cinema today is like an IKEA chair that someone forgot to include the assembly instructions for — the parts are a bit odd, and the potential is unclear.”

Marketing challenges boil down to a vicious cycle:
In Belarusian cinema, there aren’t many “big names,” which means the entry barrier for viewers is quite high. As a result, few people watch Belarusian films — and because viewership is low, it’s very hard to convince anyone that Belarusian cinema is actually interesting. This leads directly to the main difficulty: financial sustainability.

“Since we’re showcasing a rather niche product — contemporary independent Belarusian cinema — we’re working with a small audience,” explains Volia Chajkouskaya.“Streaming platforms that make money focus on entirely different types of content.”

“The mere fact that the word ‘cinema’ appears in our name unfortunately doesn’t mean we’re a commercial project.”

Platforms similar to VODBLISK — national online cinemas in European countries — are not profitable either. They are funded by their respective governments and through EU grants. That’s why the work VODBLISK is doing is essentially the role of public institutions elsewhere: preserving a piece of national culture, heritage, and identity as expressed through cinema.

Watching a film on the platform costs $5 for viewers outside of Belarus. For viewers inside Belarus, all films are available for free due to safety concerns.

The director openly acknowledges that under these circumstances, monetizing the project is not possible. Viewers in Belarus do not pay to watch films, and to attract the attention and support of the diaspora, the platform must compete with countless other initiatives and projects — including major players like Netflix. Grants are also not infinite. All revenue from ticket sales and grants goes toward maintaining the platform, acquiring screening rights, and paying the small team.

There is still hope in donations, which is why the VODBLISK team emphasizes: even a $3 donation can truly help support the project.

VODBLISK has already become more than just an online cinema platform — it’s also an important educational space about film.

For example, the project draws its viewers’ attention to the issue of legal content and the challenges it faces competing with piracy. In one of her Instagram posts, Volia Chajkouskaya explains that watching pirated content directly affects filmmakers’ earnings — and this, in turn, impacts their motivation and ability to throw themselves back into creating low-budget indie films. Because of this, even projects that aim to spread the Belarusian language by uploading films with Belarusian voiceovers or subtitles are not only acting illegally, but ultimately doing a disservice to the creators of that content.

Through its own example, VODBLISK strives to show that there is another way:

“All the content we have is shown completely legally — we have the rights and the set terms for everything,” states Volia Chajkouskaya. She continues:

“It involves a lot of paperwork and documentation, which certainly doesn’t make our lives easier, but it makes us unique — because we have experience in conducting business in a civilized way. I hope that the way we work with Belarusian filmmakers also teaches them some fundamental negotiation skills — what a contract is, what rights mean, the terms under which rights are transferred, and so on.”

In addition to films created by Belarusian directors, the platform has begun expanding its library with Danish festival hits.

A total of 9 Danish documentary films are planned for release as part of a collaboration with one of the world’s most prestigious documentary film festivals — CPH:DOX.

The platform’s director sees no contradiction with VODBLISK’s mission in this expansion.

On the contrary — she believes that through international content and greater diversity, there’s a chance to attract viewers to the platform, where they may also turn their attention to Belarusian cinema.

That’s why there are future plans to expand the platform’s catalog with more international content.

According to the platform’s founder, Belarusians still don’t have the habit of watching their own national cinema — it has to be proven that it’s worth their attention. But VODBLISK exists precisely to nurture and grow that habit.

“We need to watch and support Belarusian cinema,” Volia says with confidence. “If we, Belarusians, don’t do it ourselves, no one will do it for us — and then it will die and simply cease to exist.”

Some of the most popular films on the platform include "Lake of Happiness" by Aliaksei Paluyan, "My Granny from Mars" by Alexander Mihalkovich, and "II" by Vlada Senkova. If you’re not sure where to begin your journey into Belarusian cinema — start with these!