Variety; All3Media International Boards ‘The Accidental President,’ About Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: ‘Putin Has Been Aided by Neighboring Poodle Alexander Lukashenko’

Story from Variety:

All3Media International has boarded documentary “The Accidental President” about Belarusian political activist – and 2020 presidential candidate – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

Her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky decided to run against Alexander Lukashenko the same year, only to be arrested. As a result, she entered herself into the race. Although she reportedly won the popular vote, after Lukashenko – who has been in the office since 1994 – was declared a winner once again, forcing her into exile.

In 2025, Lukashenko intends to seek reelection.

The company has joined forces with Roast Beef Productions– also behind “Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?” and “Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer” – while Mike Lerner and Martin Herring direct.

“The Accidental President” is produced in association with All3Media International, Germany’s NDR and Doc Society.

All3Media International is also behind “Fever Pitch: The Rise of the Premier League,” “Escape to the Chateau,” “Great British Menu” and “Four in a Bed.” Its formats include “The Traitors,” “Gogglebox” and “Undercover Boss.”

“Today, the world has finally woken up to Putin’s tyrannical war against democracy and freedom. This film will show how Putin has been aided and abetted by his neighboring poodle, the fake president Alexander Lukashenko, in their attempt to destroy democracy both in Belarus and Ukraine,” declared the directors, who already collaborated as producers on Oscar-nominated “Hell and Back Again” about soldiers returning from Afghanistan.

“The awe-inspiring bravery of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and the thousands of ordinary Belarusians who refuse to accept this tyranny, is an example to all of us of the power of the individual to fight for truth and justice.”

The film, diving right into her surprising journey from primary school teacher to politician, and providing “unprecedented access” to the opposition leader and her team, is about “the struggle for justice in the face of state terror and the hopes of a nation to create a new democratic country out of the ruins of its Soviet past,” it was stated.

It will be shown at the One World Festival in Prague and the International Documentary Film Festival Artdocfest/Riga.

“Following our global sales success with three-parter ‘Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?,’ we’re very pleased to announce our latest collaboration with the genre-leading creative team at Roast Beef Productions,” said Rachel Job, SVP non-scripted content at All3Media International.

“The Accidental President’ puts the spotlight on a woman whose life has been profoundly transformed as she fights for the future of her country. Through Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s extraordinary story audiences around the world can get unique insight into this high-stakes struggle for democracy in Europe’s last dictatorship.”