Keswick Film Club - Reviews - Green Border

The Film Club film, Green Border, last Sunday came from 76 year old Polish Director Agnieszka Holland. An interesting woman, daughter of two journalists, one a Communist activist, she was influenced by the Czech New Wave filmmakers and by early films of Agnes Varda. She has made over 30 films and directed for TV including The Wire.

The film showed the life of refugees making their way along a so-called easier route to Europe across the border between Belarus and Poland. Allegedly safer than crossing by sea we soon discovered this not to be the case as the families we met were kicked like footballs backwards and forwards across the border.

We were shown the activities from the various positions of the refugees themselves, the activists who attempted to help them and the border guards carrying out orders, sometimes with brutality, sometimes against their better judgement.

The film is in black and white and much of the interest is as you get to know the families and see the subtly drawn relationships developing. The three generations of a Syrian family, a lone Afghan woman who joins them and three African lads. As well as the threat of the guards and perpetually being sent back if caught, the forest they have to cross is wild with areas of swamp. They have little food or water, and phones and power packs become an important link – smashed by the guards when possible.

The film was made very quickly as the director wanted to get the story out. It was denied by the Polish government and the director ended up with death threats and as front-page news. This of course built the audience for the film. It ends making the point of how Poland welcomed over 30,000 Ukrainian refugees with open arms whilst playing cat and mouse with refugees from elsewhere.