Was It Possible to Delink? Travelogues from Africa by Mykolas Liubeckis and Viktoras Starošas

This article examines Lithuanian documentary travelogues by Mykolas Liubeckis and Viktoras Starošas, produced under the Soviet regime in African countries during their decolonization. Starošas, a central figure in postwar Lithuanian cinema, created films that combine ideological correctness with aesthetic ambition: his voice-over is distant and restrained, yet the camera captures expressive details and unvarnished reality, emphasising socialism. Liubeckis, by contrast, remains largely outside the established Lithuanian documentary canon; his primary profession was journalism, and he travelled extensively in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa, producing various travelogues, both written and filmed. Both filmmakers had to navigate Soviet ideological constraints, shaping what could be shown and how; in Liubeckis’ films, the critique of the West is stronger, reflecting the early 1960s context, while Starošas’ later films emphasise the success of socialism in countries that had already chosen it. By combining postcolonial and decolonial approaches, this study considers how the films reflect the filmmakers’ perspectives, how they reproduce or challenge Soviet narratives, and whether gestures of delinking from ideology are present.