Green Border (2023)

September 22, 2023 (BE) • Drama • 152m

Overview

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 trying to reach the European Union are trapped in a geopolitical crisis cynically engineered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. In an attempt to provoke Europe, refugees are lured to the border by propaganda promising easy passage to the EU. Pawns in this hidden war, the lives of Julia, a newly minted activist who has given up her comfortable life, Jan, a young border guard, and a Syrian family intertwine.

Director

Agnieszka Holland

Writers

Agnieszka Holland, Gabriela Łazarkiewicz-Sieczko, Maciej Pisuk

Top Billed

Jalal Altawil

Keywords

refugee border crossing border guard refugee crisis european refugee crisis refugees

Where to watch

Free / Included

Rent

Buy

Top Billed Cast

Jalal Altawil

Bashir

Maja Ostaszewska

Julia

Behi Djanati Atai

Leila

Tomasz Włosok

Jan

Mohamad Al Rashi

Grandfather

Dalia Naous

Amina

Jaśmina Polak

'Żuku'

Monika Frajczyk

Marta

Maciej Stuhr

Bogdan

Agata Kulesza

Basia

Aboubakr Bensaïhi

Ahmed

Michał Zieliński

Sasza

Joely Mbundu

African Woman

Malwina Buss

Kasia

Piotr Stramowski

Maciek

Marta Stalmierska

Ula

Sandra Korzeniak

Doctor at the Hospital

Magdalena Popławska

Bogdan's wife

Talia Ajjan

Ghalia

Taim Ajjan

Nur

Sebabastian Svaton

Mahir

Piotr Połtowicz

Pilot (voice)

Valentina Sizonenko

Flight Attendant

Noah Meskina

Bashir's Brother

Jan Aleksandrowicz-Krasko

Driver on the Airport

Dzianis Tarasenka

Wojciech Kałużyński

Farmer

Alan Al Murtatha

Karim

Perwar Tariq

Hassan

Maciej Stępniak

Maciej Kosiacki

'Kosa'

Davit Baroyan

Refugee in the Truck

Tinatin Jabanashvili

Woman in the Truck

Sebastian Królikowski

Polish Soldier

Jan Sałasiński

Polish Soldier

Joecey Mbundu

African

Zuyee Helal

Afghan

Bartosz Picher

Roman Skorovskyi

Pavel Gorodnitskij

Elie Zeitouny

Jamal

Helena Ganjalyan

Pregnant Farah

Katarzyna Obidzińska

Ola

Sławomir Holland

Karczewski

Stanisław Cywka

Jacek

Robert Czerwiński

Krzysiek

Marta Ziętkowska

Officer Pawelec

Joanna Gonschorek

Ginecologist

Mirosław Kropielnicki

Sylwester

Usman Sediqi

boy

Jan Litvinovitch

Dagmara Brodziak

Anna Biernacik

Stefka

Maria Złonkiewicz

Activist

Nadim Suleiman

Translator

Szczepan Kajfasz

Medician

Paweł Łukasiewicz

Medician

Agnieszka Racka

Medician

Mikołaj Łaski

Medician

Adel Boubir

Refugee

Marcin Osiadacz

Hanna Turnau

Tomasz Krzemieniecki

Oleg Garbuz

Ewa Wirtwein

Old Lady on the Road

Mateusz Janicki

Policeman

Agnieszka Frankel

Policewoman

Magdalena Duszak

Young Policewoman

Michał Wawrykiewicz

Igor Korus

Jonathan Louhoua

African Teenager

Georges-Anthony Van Keer

African Teenager

Gabriel Ossotchenho

African Teenager

James Cyiza

African Teenager

Ada Cyndler

Mother

Mikołaj Cyndler

Boy

Grzegorz Gromek

Tow Truck Driver

Grzegorz Grochowski

Klementyna Lamort De Gail

Bogdan's Daughter

Tomasz Jaskowski

Bogdan's Son

Milan Šteindler

Jindra

Oksana Cherkashyna

Ukrainian Refugee

Olena Leonenko

Ukrainian Refugee

Serhii Berezhko

Ukrainian Refugee

Marii Berezhko

Ukrainian Refugee

Veronika Berezhko

Ukrainian Refugee

Kalina Siudek

Matylda Stuhr

Agata Kuśpit

Julia Zagórska

Marianna Wierzchosławska

Crew

Roman Dymny

Sound

Jeff Field

Executive Producer

Daniel Bergmann

Executive Producer

Pavel Hrdlička

Editor

Frédéric Vercheval

Original Music Composer

Mike Downey

Executive Producer

Fred Bernstein

Producer

Agnieszka Holland

Producer

Marcin Wierzchosławski

Producer

Katarzyna Lewińska

Costume Designer

Aleksandra Leszczyńska

Co-Producer

Beata Ryczkowska

Co-Producer

Wojciech Jastrzębski

Script

Paulina Krajnik

Casting

Maria Kujawska

Script

Tomasz Naumiuk

Camera Operator

Krzysztof Waligórski

Props

Piotr Buczek

Assistant Property Master

Klementyna Szymańska

Casting Assistant

Jakub Burakiewicz

Camera Operator

Behi Djanati Atai

Casting

Igor Słupecki

Grip

Katarzyna Jędrzejczyk

Set Designer

Kadija Leclère

Casting

Jalal Altawil

Dialogue

Jakub Burakiewicz

Second Unit Director of Photography

Grzegorz Kurtiak

Assistant Costume Designer

Oliwia Warnel

Script

Konrad Chmielnicki

Drone Operator

Łukasz Głaszczka

Master Lighting Artist

Maja Waligórska

Assistant Property Master

Filip Wakuła

Assistant Costume Designer

Wanda Tatucha-Kędzierzawska

Special Props

Jakub Bossowski

Special Props

Antoni Jędrzejczyk

Assistant Property Master

Nadim Suleiman

Dialogue

Marcin Kędzierzawski

Special Props

Rafał Ruszkowski

Assistant Property Master

Mateusz Smereczyński

Data Management Technician

Mary Melhem

Casting

Sebastian Frąc

Grip

Filip Pietraszkiewicz

Assistant Property Master

Teodor Tzolov

Stunts

Paweł Kowalski

Stunts

Anna Woźniak

Production Coordinator

Roman Dymny

Sound Editor

Marzena Derkowska

Catering

Konrad Wróblewski

Production Manager

Iwona Polak

Development Manager

Antonina Łazarkiewicz

Assistant Makeup Artist

Wojciech Konkol

Health and Safety

Michał Kanclerski

Post Production Coordinator

Šárka Cimbalová

Co-Producer

Jagoda Dolińska

Translator

Anna Palka

Development Manager

Eyas Almokdad

Translator

Anna Malarowska

Music Consultant

Paweł Włochacz

Translator

Aneta Brzozowska

Makeup Department Head

Anna Hardasiewicz

Public Relations

Agata Kubis

Still Photographer

Piotr Bogusz

Development Manager

Marcel Długołęcki

Medical Consultant

Damian Dąmbski

Stunts

Mateusz Kuś

Stunts

Dagmara Chałabis

Assistant Costume Designer

Mieszko Poplawski

Production Coordinator

Milena Łazarkiewicz

Assistant Production Manager

Nadim Suleiman

Translator

Tomasz Krzemieniecki

Stunt Coordinator

Aleksandra Krzemieniecka-Jarzęcka

Stunts

Małgorzata Seck 

Co-Producer

Marek Kłosowicz

Co-Producer

Krzysztof Krzemieniecki

Stunts

Simon Clare

Translator

Beata Michalik

Assistant Costume Designer

Magdalena Markiewicz

Stunts

Monika Graf

Music Consultant

Aleksandra Widelska

Medical Consultant

Stanisław Madej

Stunts

Tomasz Lewandowski

Stunts

Ada Maciejowska

Production Coordinator

Katarzyna Strumnik

Producer's Assistant

Michał Kosmala

Co-Producer

Łukasz Przeorski

Post Production Coordinator

Diana Elbaum

Co-Producer

Alicja Jagodzińska-Kałkus

Post Production Coordinator

Magdalena Ulejczyk

Co-Producer

Maria Magierowska

Assistant Production Manager

David Ragonig

Co-Producer

Dominika Kulczyk

Co-Producer

Anna Spisz

Co-Producer

Emir Külal Haznevi

Executive Producer

Maria Blicharska

Co-Producer

Agnieszka Holland

Director

Tomasz Naumiuk

Director of Photography

Damien Mc Donald

Co-Producer

Steffen Geypens

Post Production Supervisor

Agnieszka Holland

Screenplay

Gabriela Łazarkiewicz-Sieczko

Screenplay

Maciej Pisuk

Screenplay

Rafał Pijański

Visual Effects

Reviews

CinemaSerf

⭐ 7/10

June 22, 2024

This is the second film I've seen this week with Tomasz Wlosok. Earlier, he was in Julia von Heinz's tragic-comedy "Treasure" (2024) with a far lighter and fluffier role than he has here, as a Polish border guard. He is part of a team charged with repelling refugees trying to cross into the EU from Belarus. On that front, we are introduced to travellers who have been lulled into thinking their flight from Syria and Afghanistan will be a dawdle. An expensive one, yes, but a straightforward flight to Minsk on a comfortable Turkish aircraft then a bus to Poland thence on to wherever. Sadly, they soon realise that their bought-and-paid-for journey merely inserts them into a game of human table tennis between the military on both sides of a border - only it's coiled barbed wire rather than a net. It doesn't matter what their predicament - injured, pregnant, old, vulnerable - they are systematically robbed, starved and dehydrated. There is some hope for them, though, as Polish activists try to help them and get them on the register for asylum. That, however, requires that they be reported to the police and then to the guard and so we are back with handsome Tomasz ("Jan") again. Their journey is riddled with peril and that's harrowing at times, but somehow not quite so difficult to stomach as the behaviour of the people in uniform bending or breaking the rules from above to ensure a minimum of these people ever made it past the forests of the 250-odd miles of border. Politics plays it's part too - the government of one nation accused of using these people as "live bullets", the other of sowing seeds of dissent within an EU where rising nationalism is polarising societal attitudes. In the end, it is a really rather brutal assessment of human nature at it's worst whilst also illustrating just what lengths decent folks will go to, and the risks they will take, to do what they feel is right. The intensity of the camerawork - especially in the woods, and the audio editing give this an added piquancy that makes their plight all the more terrifying, frustrating and deadly. I didn't quite get the point of the anecdote at the end. I'm not sure that concluding assertion took into consideration the historic cultural and traditional links between neighbouring Poland and Ukraine as distinct from those fleeing from Syria, but it does offer us considerable food for thought on what is the right thing to do without imposing director Holland's personal view too overwhelmingly on the issues faced by countries that might be legitimately concerned about the impact on their nation, economy and culture of large scale migration. It's not an easy film to watch, it's violent and nasty - but compelling.

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Brent Marchant

⭐ 9/10

August 24, 2024

Escaping tyranny to find a better life is a process frequently riddled with challenges, frustrations and desperate measures. So, when refugees hear about an allegedly credible way to more easily escape their circumstances and make their way to freedom, they often enthusiastically jump at the chance to avail themselves of the opportunity. Such was the case in 2021 with the supposedly unblemished promise accorded the “green border” crossing from Belarus into Poland, a port of entry into the European Union said to offer a comparatively less problematic escape route for those fleeing the Middle East and Africa. However, given that neither nation wanted to deal with a flood of refugees at the time, combined with swirling rumors that the new arrivals posed a serious security threat to the well-being of a conservatively governed Poland, the border patrol guards in both countries engaged in an aggressive campaign of brutally rounding up and unceremoniously dumping escapees back and forth on each other’s territory, repeatedly subjecting those caught in the middle to inhumane treatment and unspeakable perils with each switch, a practice little known outside the region at the time. This latest offering from acclaimed writer-director Agnieszka Holland sheds light on what happened during this turbulent time, a troubling scenario that, despite some significant reforms in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine War, still continues to this day. The film explores this scenario through four interwoven story threads showing the impact of the green border on the lives of refugees, border guards, activists seeking to assist refugees in transit, and everyday citizens looking to make a difference in Polish government policies and practices. The picture’s superbly crafted narrative and poignant screenplay provide an excellent, in-depth examination of the connections involving these four constituencies through a well-integrated combination of engaging, emotion-filled sequences and its captivating, edge-of-the-seat treatment of the principals’ diverse yet linked experiences. However, given the subject matter and its gritty, realistic depiction, sensitive viewers should be aware that this release can be a difficult watch at times. Nevertheless, despite its cinematic candor, this offering is also riveting in holding viewing attention, quite an achievement for a film with a 2:32:00 runtime, an artistic accomplishment largely made possible by its fine performances across the board and its stunning black-and-white cinematography. At the risk of overstatement, “Green Border” is handily one of the most important releases of 2024, one that should be on every cinephile’s must watch list for its hard-hitting impact and eye-opening revelations, disclosures that anyone with a conscience should find impossible to ignore.

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good.film

November 20, 2024

For audiences who see “refugee” as just a headline in a newspaper, GREEN BORDER changes everything. It's an urgent, extraordinary film that spears your heart like an arrow.

Winner of seven separate prizes at the Venice Film Festival, Green Border recognises that, to put it bluntly, the refugee crisis is a mess that’s too easily written off as “somebody else’s problem.” To break through that, Polish master filmmaker Agnieszka Holland zooms into… read the rest.