About the Film

About the Film

Lidia Duda’s new film is one of the most important and awarded Polish documentaries of 2024. Accolades in Thessaloniki, Warsaw and Prague are accompanied by audiences’ love for the protagonists Asia and Marek and their children: Franek, Ignacy and Marysia. 

 

Asia and Marek live with their three children in the oldest forest in Poland, next to the border with Belarus. When their dream of buying a house came true soon after graduating from university, they had no idea what will happen in their little paradise. Cameras installed in the area had one purpose - to observe wild animals. But one day the recordings show people who appeared in the forest. They are refugees trying to find a safe route to Europe. The whole family engages in helping them regardless no support from the state od Poland. From now on the forest is a different place. How do you come back home, when people are dying nearby? 

 

Filmmakers: 

  • Script and Direction: Lidia Duda  
  • Cinematography: Zuzanna Zachara-Hassairi  
  • Editing: Lidia Duda, Filip Stanisławski  
  • Sound: Krzysztof Ridan, Pavel Rejholec, mpse  
  • Producers: Patryk Sielecki, Michał Ostatkiewicz, Aleksandra Ostatkiewicz Koproducenci: Michał Sikora, Anna Bławut-Mazurkiewicz, Lidia Duda  
  • Outreach Producer: Weronika Adamowska  
  • Produced by: Fundacja Filmowa Lumisenta  
  • Co-producers: Lonely Production, Studio Filmowe Rabarbar, Canal+ Polska, EC1-Łódź - Miasto Kultury  
  • Co-financed by Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej, Czeski Fundusz Filmowy  
  • World Sales: Rise And Shine World Sales  
  • Polish distribution: WATCH DOCS Dystrybucja 

Awards at International Film Festivals and Markets: 

Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival
Silver Alexander (2024)

Millenium Docs Against Gravity (2024) 
Main Award in Polish Documentary Competition 
Grand Prix of Lower Silesia
Smakjam Award for the best production
Amnesty International Award 

East Silver Market (2024)
Special Mention