The Accidental President

When Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya put her name on the ballot alongside authoritarian Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko she had no idea she would win. This is her story.

In 2020, Tsikhanouskaya’s life changed irrevocably. First, her husband was arrested and made a political prisoner. Then, in protest, she stood against Lukashenko in the elections. He allowed her name to remain on the ballot as a joke. But then she won. Tracing her tense and electrifying journey over the course of the year, this impassioned political portrait profits from the unfettered access directors Mike Lerner and Martin Herring were given during Tsikhanouskaya’s campaign, her subsequent exile from Belarus and her navigation through the EU and global political landscape as her country’s legitimately elected leader. It’s a testament to strength, courage and stubborn resistance, and of Tsikhanouskaya’s love for her husband. And it asks us: in the bleakest moment what would we do for our loved ones?

Content Guidance: Film contains scenes of protest violence.