Green Border: The Film Everyone in the U.S. Should See. But Will They Be Able To?

I was fortunate last week to be able to attend the New York Film Festival as an industry attendee. While I could only be there for a few days, it was a great thrill to see several upcoming films, connect with industry folks, and just be around film fans from around the world.

While there were many exceptional films this year, “Green Border” stood out for me.

Veteran and Academy Award-nominated writer and director Agnieszka Holland and her cast and crew deliver a searing and must-watch film on the ongoing refugee crisis in her native Poland.

The film, shot in black and white, covers multiple characters on all sides of the issue.

A group of Syrian refugees and an English teacher from Afghanistan reach Belarus, hoping to eventually enter Poland before seeking asylum in Sweden. However, the refugees end up caught as pawns in a deadly political game between Belarus and Poland as border guards literally push the refugees across from one side to the other, neither giving them refuge. Polish activists, who attempt to help the refugees also face their own issues, as supporting the refugees is, for the most part, shown as politically and socially unpopular.

While this is a tough film to watch at times, the entire movie moves at a thriller pace and keeps you engaged and invested in all the characters as it does an incredible job of presenting as many sides of the story as possible.

While "Green Border" continues to earn rave reviews, the film sparked political controversy in Poland. Government officials there denounced the film, calling it “propaganda.” At one point, the Polish government also wanted cinemas showing the film, to first show a short film promoting the work of its border forces before screenings.

All of the controversy quickly made the film a box-office hit in Poland. After all, there’s nothing like controversy to get people to buy tickets.

While “Green Border” currently has distribution set for Europe and Asia, that’s not the case for the United States.

As of this writing, the film and its producers are still seeking U.S. distribution.

Is that surprising? Probably not. Even with this film earning rave reviews and screening at major festivals at Venice, Toronto, and now New York.

It didn’t help matters that not surprisingly, “Green Border” was not chosen as Poland’s official selection for the “Best International Feature” at the upcoming Academy Awards. (That’s not to take anything away from “The Peasants” that was chosen.)

The reality is that, from a U.S. perspective, “Green Border” will be a hard sell to American audiences. Although it is not a documentary, many films, narratives and documentaries, focused on human rights issues are finding it more and more difficult to secure traditional theatrical distribution these days.

Distributors, of course, are in the business to make money, and have to weigh everything from marketing and logistical costs before selecting films to distribute.

That means even films, from a prominent director like Holland, that earn stellar reviews, and are shown at major festivals, still may not gain distribution right away, or even at all. Especially in the United States where theatrical distribution is becoming increasingly difficult.

The takeaway from all of this for any mediamaker, is of course to make the best film possible. But before that, having a solid marketing and distribution plan in place, before going into a festival run, could just make the difference between having a film seen only at festivals, instead of at your local movie theater.

The trailer for “Green Border” can be seen here.