Agnieszka Holland Defiant Despite ‘Abominable,’ ‘Dangerous’ Attacks as Venice Prize-Winning Refugee Drama ‘Green Border’ Prepares for Polish Theatrical Release (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comChristopher Vourlias Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland has remained defiant despite a wave of vicious political attacks and online hate speech as she prepares to release her Venice Special Jury Prize-winning refugee drama “Green Border” in Poland on Sept.
22. “I find the orchestrated hatred organized by the highest Polish officials abominable and dangerous,” the three-time Academy Award nominee tells Variety. “It proves only how deeply true and important is our film, and that we’re showing the things and giving faces to people they wanted to hide by the lies and propaganda.” “Green Border” explores the injustice and terror perpetrated along the border between Poland and Belarus from the perspective of refugees, activists and border guards, painting a damning portrait of the right-wing, anti-migrant Polish government’s response to the refugee crisis.
In a glowing review from Venice, where the film was widely praised, Variety‘s Jessica Kiang described Holland’s “intense, intelligent broadside against frontier injustice and terror” as “a gripping account of the inhumanity and depravity that ensues when those fleeing persecution are made political pawns.” The backlash from the Polish government, however, was immediate.
On Sept. 4, even before the film’s world premiere, Poland’s hard-right justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): “In the Third Reich, the Germans produced propaganda films showing Poles as bandits and murderers.
Read more on variety.com
