Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland is one of the greats. A three-time Academy Award nominee—1990’s “Europa Europa,” 1993’s “Angry Harvest” and the Holocaust drama “In Darkness”— Holland is also known for her celebrated prestige TV work, particularly on the David Simon series’ “The Wire,” and “Treme” and shows like “The Killing,” and “House Of Cards.” But her best-known feature work has always leaned towards social justice and socially-conscious dramas, which brings us to her latest, “Green Border,” an bracing portrait of Europe’s refugee crisis that has been hailed as a “humanitarian masterpiece.”
Our review of the film described “Green Border” as “devastating” and “nightmarish.” “Holland has made a righteous, masterful work, arguably her best since ‘Europa Europa,’ but it’s not for the faint of heart or those inclined to turn a blind eye to suffering,” our review wrote.
“Green Border” centers on a family of refugees from Syria, an English teacher from Afghanistan and a border guard who all meet on the Polish-Belarusian border during the most recent humanitarian crisis in Belarus.
An urgent and unflinching film, “Green Border” made its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2023, where it won seven awards including the Special Jury Prize, and was an official selection of TIFF, New York Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and AFI Fest.
Here’s the longform synopsis:
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 are lured by government propaganda promising easy passage to the European Union. Unable to cross into Europe and unable to turn back, they find themselves trapped in a rapidly escalating geopolitical stand-off. An unflinching depiction of the migrant crisis captured in stark black-and-white, this riveting film explores the intractable issue from multiple perspectives: a Syrian family fleeing ISIS caught between cruel border guards in both countries; young guards instructed to brutalize and reject the migrants; and activists who aid the refugees at great personal risk.
Thirty years after EUROPA EUROPA, Agnieszka Holland brings a masterful eye for realism and deep compassion to this blistering critique of a humanitarian calamity that continues to unfold. GREEN BORDER is a poignant and essential work of cinema that opens our eyes and speaks to the heart, challenging viewers to reflect on the moral choices that fall to ordinary people every day.
“Green Border” opens in NY on June 21 at Film Forum and in LA on June 28 at Laemmle Royal, via Kino Lorber with national expansion to follow. Watch the first trailer below.
