GREEN BORDER
With her characteristic blend of finely honed craft and fiery moral conviction, veteran director Agnieszka Holland (CHARLATAN, PFF29) returns with one of her most ambitious, fiercely political works yet, a potent and emotionally shattering dispatch from the humanitarian crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border. Fleeing war in Syria, a family arrives in Belarus, lured by promises of safe entry into Poland. In reality, they are being cruelly used as pawns in an effort to antagonize the EU, with refugees being turned away, left to fend for themselves in an inhospitable forest, and cruelly mistreated by authorities in both countries. Holland divides her focus between the refugees and two sets of Poles: an impressionable young border guard and a widowed psychologist who’s inspired to join a group of refugee-aid activists after she witnesses the brutality firsthand. After its triumphant premiere at the Venice Film Festival (where it won the Special Jury Prize), GREEN BORDER was attacked by members of Poland’s right-wing government, providing further testament to the film’s vitality as a work of urgent political agitation.
CAST: Jalal Altawil , Maja Ostaszewska , Behi Djanati Atai , Mohamad Al Rashi
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