(2023, Polonia, Repubblica Ceca, Francia, Belgio, 147')
Stories of borders—where the borders of Poland and Belarus meet, so do the lives of the film’s protagonists, a family of Syrian refugees, an Afghan professor, and a border guard. The story behind the film is little known, but sadly real. It is the story of those migrants that Belarusian president Lukashenko convinced they could enter Europe from his country’s border with Poland, only to be systematically rejected by Polish authorities and left in a limbo of broken families, general indifference, and distress.
Polish movie director Agnieszka Holland debuted in 1979 with Provincial Actors, recognized by FIPRESCI at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1985, her Angry Harvest earned an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature. Holland directed Leonardo DiCaprio in Total Eclipse (1995), and submitted two of his films in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival before: Olivier, Olivier in 1992 and Julie Walking Home in 2002.
