Fall 2024—Saturday, November 16, 7 p.m.
Green Border
Zielona Granica
2024, 147 minutes
Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium
Directed by: Agnieszka Holland
Written by: Maciej Pisuk, Gabriela Łazarkiewicz-Sieczko, Agnieszka Holland
Principal cast: Maja Ostaszewska, Tomasz Włosok, Jaśmina Polak, Jalal Altawil, Behi Djanati Ataï, Dalia Naous, Mohamad Al Rashi
Description
In the treacherous and swampy forests that make up the so called “green border” between Belarus and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa trying to reach the European Union are trapped in a geopolitical crisis cynically engineered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. In an attempt to provoke Europe, refugees are lured to the border by propaganda promising easy passage to the EU.
Having moved to Podlasie region in the north-east of Poland, Julia, a psychologist, becomes an involuntary witness and participant of the dramatic events at the Polish-Belarussian border. Conscious of the risk and legal consequences, she joins a group of activists that help refugees who are camping out in the forests in the state of emergency zone. At the same time, a Syrian family who are fleeing from war and a teacher from Afghanistan are trying to reach the border of the European Union, not realizing that they have become the tool of the Belarussian authorities’ political scam. In Poland, fate will bring them together with Julia and a young border patrolman, Jan. The events that engulf them will force them all to pose the following question anew: what is humanity?
Three-time Oscar Nominee Agnieszka Holland’s poignant new feature Green Border opens our eyes, speaks to the heart, and challenges us to reflect on the moral choices that fall to ordinary people every day.
Golden Lions at 2024 Gdynia Polish Film Festival.