500 Years of Belarusian Book Printing

MINSK, 2 March (BelTA) – A documentary about Francysk Skaryna will debut at the Belarusian Literature Day, Natalia Zaderkovskaya, the head of the department for culture and folk art institutions at the Culture Ministry of Belarus, said at a press conference held in BelTA’s press center.

The Pershadruk project won the last year’s film competition. The filming has been completed and now the work is at the editing stage. It will premiere at the Belarusian Literature Day that will be held in Polotsk in September. The film will be released in Russian and Belarusian and is expected to be translated into foreign languages, in particular in English.

Natalia Zaderkovskaya noted that September will feature many events marking the 500th anniversary of the Belarusian book printing. For example, during the Belarusian Literature Day, traditional celebration of the Belarusian language, the Republican Theater of Belarusian Drama will show its performance based on Viktor Martinovich’s play which won the plays contest dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the Belarusian book printing and Francysk Skaryna work. The Belarusian National History Museum will run its multimedia project on the places where Skaryna worked.

Another noteworthy event will be the 95th anniversary of the National Library of Belarus. An international congress dedicated to the 500th anniversary of bookprinting will mark this occasion. The registration for the congress is open.

A big exhibition project “Francysk Skaryna and His Epoch” will also be launched in September. It will feature original Skaryna’s editions and printings from different countries.