Screening Sat 20th, Sun 21st and Wed 24th July.

Agniezka Holland’s most recent film is a fictional story based on the real-life plight of refugees crossing the titular “green border”. This is the dangerous, wooded exclusion zone where refugees attempt to cross from Belarus into Poland. Holland’s political commentary is uncompromising, with humanitarian issues ever at the forefront of her work.

Green Border (2023 Polish release, 2024 UK release) focuses on both the natural dangers of the freezing swampland and the human dangers facing those caught within a political game. After opening on an airplane filled with travellers starting their journey, the film is split into several chapters. These follow a Syrian family, a Polish border guard, a group of humanitarian workers, and a therapist who has moved to the rural border.

The release of this work is timely. While it is made in the explicit context of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko allowing easy access to the EU, with the alleged aim of rebelling against sanctions and European governments, Holland acknowledged the wider scope by stating that “migration is the most important question in Europe and maybe in the world right now”. This question has received a large focus in the recent UK general election campaigns, which coincided with the local release of the film. However, rather than focusing on any government, the effects on ordinary people of all sides are what is highlighted.

Described as a harrowing, urgent, and furious drama, Holland humanises the statistics and headlines we read daily and encourages us to share her anger.

Toby Breeze