‘Letters From the Silenced Country’ Wins Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary Presented During Venice Film Festival (EXCLUSIVE)

Belarusian director Andrei Kutsila’s “Letters from the Silenced Country,” a portrayal of contemporary Belarus seen through the lives of five individuals whose existence has been upended by state violence and political repression, is the winner of The Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary awarded in partnership with Artemis Rising Foundation at the Venice Film Festival.

The juried prize, which honors a documentary filmmaker with a feature in the 2026 Venice official selection that calls attention to a key social issue with journalistic and creative prowess, is presented at the fest as a collateral impact award.

Built around personal letters written from prison, exile, and underground life, “Letters from the Silenced Country” – which premiered at Venice out-of-competition – combines observational documentary, archival footage, and animation based on drawings created in confinement. “Rather than a broad political overview, the film focuses on individual stories, of protest, imprisonment, escape, and everyday resistance, told through the people living them,” according to a provided synopsis.

The Golden Globes Impact Prize for Documentary Award’s jury at Venice comprised Filipino-American star Liza Soberano; Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne; Oscar-winning producer and founder of Artemis Rising Foundation Regina K. Scully; Oscar-winning producer and co-founder of Impact Partners Geralyn White Dreyfous; and founder and CEO of Think-Film Impact Production, Danielle Turkov Wilson.

“Letters from the Silenced Country puts a human face on a crisis too often reduced to headlines and numbers, illustrating the impossible choices people make to hold on to their humanity,” the jury collectively said in a statement.

“Though it is rooted in Belarus, its story reaches far beyond one country’s borders, it speaks to anyone who has ever loved someone from a distance, or fought to stay connected to who they are under pressure to disappear,” they added. “The way the director blends letters, drawings, and memory into the storytelling captures not only grief, but love, hope, and tenderness – the full range of what it means to remain human. It’s a powerful example of how a documentary can show how the most personal stories can also be the most universal.”

The prize carries $10,000 in cash from Artemis Rising Foundation.

Earlier this year, husband-and-wife filmmaking duo Joshua and Rebecca Tickell were jointly awarded the Golden Globes Prize for Documentary awarded in partnership with Artemis Rising Foundation at Cannes.

From left to right: Golden Globes President Helen Hoehne, actress Liza Soberano, Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera, Think-Film founder and CEO Danielle Turkov Wilson.