Northern Lights

Lesya (29), a struggling performance artist, finds her voice during the anti-regime protests in Belarus in 2020. Her raw political pieces turn her into a symbol of resistance. When riot police raid her performance, her lover and gallerist Yan is arrested, and Lesya is forced into exile. In Finland Lesya gets the fame she once craved, but it comes with the label of “political exile.” Torn between authenticity and success exploiting her trauma, she makes a public scandal and ruins her career. Survivor’s guilt and envy toward Yan, who gains recognition in Belarus using her legacy, destroy their relationship. Isolation and despair push Lesya toward a suicidal act that she frames as her final performance. And yet this farewell, under the healing Northern Lights, becomes a breaking point for both Lesya and her art, as she chooses vulnerability and true connection over radical spectacle.