Las - 12th Spektrum Film Festival

Director: Lidia Duda
Script: Lidia Duda
Cinematography: Zuzanna Zachara-Hassairi
Editing: Lidia Duda, Filip Stanisławski
Producers: Patryk Sielecki, Michal Sikora, Aleksandra Ostatkiewicz, Michał Ostatkiewicz

Poland, Czech Republic 2024
84′

language: polish
subtitles: czech-english

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Lidia Duda.

Asia and Marek bought an old house near the Bialowieza Forest in eastern Poland. The oldest forest in Europe is a refuge for them and their three children from a world gripped by many crises. They spend their days keeping bees, listening to the sounds of nature, watching bison and deer. But they are not the only ones seeking safety. In addition to the animals, people are beginning to appear in the footage from the cameras they have installed in the forest. Refugees who are not welcome in Belarus or Poland. Confused, hungry, injured. A family used to protecting all living creatures sees it as their duty to help them. Even at the risk of losing the paradise they have created.

When this humanitarian crisis started, I saw comments supporting both sides, including the policies of the Polish government. I try not to judge anything too hastily, especially if I haven’t experienced it myself, so I just asked myself: If I had a house there, would I help the refugees or not?

Marta Balaga, Variety

The director knows how to blend the camera with the environment she observes.

Wojciech Tutaj, Filmweb

Lower Silesia
Grand Prix