The creators of the new film did not immediately come to the name “On the Other Shore”: the first, working title of the film was “We are United.” It was memorable and historically accurate, but it sounded somewhat declarative, like a slogan. Whereas the film calls – emotionally and convincingly – for deep reflection about the fate of the Motherland, about the fate of its citizens, about the fate of each of us. The choice of one’s “shore” is a personal matter, but the consequences of the choice can affect not only the facts of one’s own biography, but also the course of the country’s history.
It is not for nothing that the main characters of the film are the brothers Anton and Pavel Smolich – people related by blood, whose views and beliefs are on different “shores”. Only truly tragic events that befell the Smolich family and, like fire, engulfing a country divided in two, force each of the brothers to choose the right side.
…Two banks of a stormy river, whose waters were more than once stained with brotherly blood, which passed through ice drifts, floods, and spills. But which one day will enter its channel and carry its calm, clear waters further…
The film “On the Other Shore” is addressed not only to the historical memory of the Belarusian people. He appeals to the mind and heart of his contemporaries. The film, the all-Belarusian premiere of which was precisely and symbolically determined – September 14, the eve of National Unity Day, is not about “yesterday”. It is about “always”.
Motherland, Belarus is our shore. We will keep it and never leave it.
