The Navel of the Sky

"I don’t want to be navel of the Earth. Earth has navels galore, it doesn’t need me. I want to be the sky’s navel. An air pocket, a black hole’s the role for me. There is more freedom and more liberty there." Viktar Zybul. The shortest way to the navel of the sky is from the highest spot in Minsk. Just a few kilometers away lays the Independence Square where in 2010, the police beat protesters who took to the streets to criticize the manipulated presidential election. Uladzimir Niaklajeu, the most famous Belarusian poet, was beaten up and later placed under house arrest. This film is about the extraordinarily rich and vigorous Belarusian poetry and about the Russian-speaking president. This film examines the metaphors of Belarusian poetry that is surviving on the periphery of capitalism.