Meet the author: Sasha Filipenko
Sasha Filipenko is a dissident writer. An outspoken opponent of Lukashenko, he is currently moving from one country to the next because of the current political tensions in Belarus. After a life as a public figure – in addition to being a writer, Filipenko was also the face of a satirical television programme – he now, of necessity, lives and writes on the sidelines.
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This life on the run is echoed in his latest novel, Hetze. A journalist who knows too much. A son who betrays his father. An oligarch who knows no mercy. Media that ruin someone’s reputation on demand. Sasha Filipenko tells the story of an idealistic journalist who takes on an oligarch, who in turn gives orders to deal with the journalist.
Uncomfortably close to reality? Unfortunately, yes. Journalist Catherine Vuylsteke read Hetze and will discuss it with Sasha Filipenko, a brave critic of Russia and his native Belarus.
This book is (at least, I hope) an explanation of why Belarusians in 2020 no longer wanted to keep on sleeping and emerged from their coma. This book is an attempt to understand how we became ex-sons and ex-daughters of our own country, and ex-children of our own parents. This book is actually a lexicon of occasions, a dictionary of motivations for Belarusians to come out of their homes. My emphatic hope is that one day this book will no longer be topical in my country.
about the author
Sasha Filipenko (b. 1984) is a writer and journalist from Belarus. He broke off his classical music studies to study literature, first at St Petersburg University and then at Bard College in New York. He later worked as a journalist, screenwriter and TV presenter of a satirical programme. He is the author of five novels and his work is now published in twelve languages. Filipenko is an outspoken opponent of Lukashenko and Putin. He is currently in residence at Passa Porta.
about the moderator
Catherine Vuylsteke is a journalist, author of books and has made films on China, (Moroccans) gays, Brussels and unaccompanied minors.
Moving and profound.
Org. Passa Porta, Meridiaan Uitgevers
picture © Lukas Lienhard
Soont at Passa Porta
