Welcome to Belarus! We are trying to show our country through the lens of foreigners.
We are trying to show our country through the lens of foreigners.
Some stay in Belarus for only a few days,
while others cast their lot with it.
So did Ammar.
Let us introduce this attractive Syrian guy to you.
Meet Ammar Alshaar!
Four years ago he came to Belarus from Syria
to study Acting at the Belarusian Academy of Arts.
Ammar Alshaar, Syrian, lives in Minsk:
"Five years ago, we found ourselves in a terrible situation in Homs,
the war actually started.
And we had to get used to sleeping to the sounds of firing.
My parents feared for my life more than I did.
It was them who came up with the idea that I should leave.
At first, I was against it, I wanted to stay there.
But after much persuasion, I moved away."
This week Ammar is on the threshold of big life events,
and he invites you to share his joy.
In five minutes a graduation play,
the result of his four-year training at the acting department, will start.
"If you go out, close the door!"
"I am a little peeved."
Among Ammar's fellow students there are also young actors from other countries -
Kazakhstan, China and Russia.
After graduation they will go back to their countries.
But Ammar will stay in Belarus.
There is no need to leave...
"Why wouldn't you marry Ammar?"
"Because he has already chosen a girlfriend!"
"Because the couple of Anya and Ammar is something unfailing."
"We met at a book fair. It was a sheer accident.
I saw her and said hello."
Anya Dalmatovich, Ammar's fiancee:
"He walked by me again and again."
"I came up with a conversation starter and I was lucky."
"What a strange man! He walked past me several times.
He had unusual bunches."
"I asked her about some book; I knew they did not sell books there."
"He was very nice and... big-eyed. Such eyes don't lie."
"I said I didn't know where it was and asked her to come together."
"We failed to find the book... Thank God, as Ammar always says,"
"Otherwise I would have to buy it, but I did not have much money."
"Then we had a cup of coffee and..".
"... now I am a groom and she is a bride!"
We got acquainted with Ammar a year ago.
Then his perceiving Belarus was not so optimistic; he even wanted to leave our country.
Ammar in 2017, fragment of the interview:
"I got disappointed after I had come here.
I thought there would be much better.
I was cheated – they said it would be a European country, Europe.
In fact, the Belarusian reality bears a strong resemblance to that of Syria,
but there is no war."
"What has happened during this year? I started to compare,
I started to think about what I would do next,
I started to cherish what I had there –
my friends, my fiancee.
I realized I got accustomed and felt that Belarus became friendly to me.
In the run-up to his wedding, Ammar's relatives arrive in Belarus.
Meet his sister Sawsan...
...her husband Samir and their daughter Sarah.
"Sarah, what will you be wearing at Ammar's wedding?"
"A dress!"
"What dress?"
"White."
"White? And do you know that you will bring our rings in?
You will carry them in such a way and then give them to me at a proper moment."
"Ammar, what about your suit?"
"One sleeve is ready, but the other is not."
"Lean forward a bit...This way...
The other arm... One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight..."
"There is something wrong."
"What was this?
Don't hold each other like there ain't no tomorrow!
More tenderness please!"
"I am afraid..."
"Anya, take the lead, I beg you..."
"You are too quick; it seems to me we should ..."
"When will your wedding be?"
"Tomorrow."
It's no big deal, we will just fail."
"No-go, I'll do you! Don't tarnish my image! Everything will be OK, won't it?"
"Yes" - "Yes"
"I am sick and tired of these preparations.
I don't know how it takes some people a year to arrange a wedding.
I guess they may go grey for this time."
"I can't say anything about my current mood.
I just want to get it over and done with
and stop bothering."
Raja Dawon, groom's mother:
"As for me, I am very happy; today is the wedding of my son!"
"Take a step... like that."
One-two...
"Now it is you who are too quick!"
"If you think you are stuck, you will never succeed."
"Forget it. One more time, from the very beginning!"
"Take it easy!"
The groom has already put gel on his hair.
Ritual song: "We ask the Prophet to bless the bridegroom,
to protect him from the evil eye.
The handsome groom feels good.
On this day, all his desires will be fulfilled.
God help him at the wedding night."
"They say that I have become a Belarusian man –
I have already entered into the traditions of Belarus.
Sometimes I have difficulty accepting our traditions."
"Don't get nervous.
When we join the guests, I will be near you all the time.
You can count on me."
"Samir is my best man. He supports me.
He is good at supporting. He is the right man for my wedding day."
"Last shot for the bachelor!"
"Anya, I'll open a secret:
You won't feel the wedding until you have gone downstairs."
"And what should I do?"
"Well, wait for this moment.
Everything will be alright!"
What makes this wedding different is the absence of a toast-master –
he is not needed when a there is a group of actors!
"When I say Anna, you also say Anna... or Anya."
"I guess 'Anya' is better here." - "Yep."
Katsyaryna volunteered to deliver a wedding ceremony.
"I wish you to have a never-ending, bright story...
what else? thrilling? long-running?
Finally I have met Ammar's parents...
I am close to tears... But I won't cry."
"Do you like my friends?"
"Yes, they are good."
"Handsome?"
"Good!"
"Let's go, Anya is coming, and I will marry her."
Mikalai Dalmatovich, bride's father:
"I was favourably impressed when I met Ammar. He is a nice guy.
We got along with each other immediately,
I saw that he was a good man,
the man whom I can give us my most precious possession, my daughter."
"The girl is good-looking, nice, beautiful, well-mannered and polite."
Nizar Alshaar, groom's father:
"And she speaks good Arabic!"
"She started speaking..."
"It seems to me - maybe you also has the feeling –
that the story of Ammar and Anya is not a soap opera,
but a superhero movie, because you guys do have superpower –
your love.
Sarah, could you please bring the rings in?
You have just cast for the major parts in your lives –
those of husband and wife!
Oh, I am too emotional... Love you both very much."
You might have noticed that
Ammar invited many friends of Syrian origin to his wedding.
All of them have found thir place in Belarus;
some even married Belarusian beauties.
Meet Youshaa and Vika
Khaled and Vika
Rabi and Nasta
Song: "Party up! Dance!"
"Now a kiss!"
In a minute, Ammar and Anya will have their first dance.
They are a bit nervous about it.
"Home. What does home mean?
How do you feel there?
Do you feel good? Loved?
I see warmth and love in Anya's eyes.
It is all that I need."
Ibrahim Youshaa, groom's friend:
"It was oool!"
Khaled Zouzou, groom's friend:
"Arabs seldom cry,
but when I saw them dancing,
tears sprang to my eyes.
It was perfect!"
Sawsan Alshaar, groom's sister:
"I think she helped him to move from such situation...
when he came to Belarus, he was very sad,
he moved from Syria, and everything was new.
When he met her, he started a new life -
'I can study, I can speak Russian, I can do everything'.
She gave him energy he needed to go ahead."
Goodbye, Ammar and Anya!
Thank you for letting us be so close on your big day.
Our crew:
Authors - Katsyaryna Markavets and Maksim Shved
Script and directing – Katsyaryna Markavets and Alyaksandr Mikhalkovich
Filming and sound – Anton Rabtsau and Lyubou Zyamtsova
Editing - Vyachaslau Bahdanovich
Sound recording - Yury Batalyonak
Animation - KniKni studio
Music for animation - Uladzimir Patapenka
Mentoring - Yury Kalina
Author of idea – Katsyaryna Markavets
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