Green Border Explained

Green Border
Native Name:
Director:Agnieszka Holland
Producer:
  • Marcin Wierzchoslawski
  • Fred Bernstein
  • Agnieszka Holland
Starring:
Cinematography:Tomasz Naumiuk
Editing:Pavel Hrdlička
Music:Frédéric Vercheval
Production Companies:
  • Metro Films
  • Astute Films
  • Blick Productions
  • Marlene Film Production
  • Beluga Tree
Distributor:
  • Kino Świat (Poland)[1] [2]
  • Bioscop (Czech Republic)[3]
  • Condor Distribution (France)
  • September Film (Belgium)
Runtime:147 minutes[4]
Country:
  • Poland
  • Czech Republic
  • France
  • Belgium
Language:
  • Polish[5]
  • Arabic
  • English
  • French
Gross:[6]

Green Border (Polish: '''Zielona granica''') is a 2023 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Agnieszka Holland. The film is written by Holland, Gabriela Łazarkiewicz-Sieczko and Maciej Pisuk and stars an ensemble cast that includes Jalal Altawil, Maja Ostaszewska, Behi Djanati Atai, Tomasz Włosok, Mohamad Al Rashi, Dalia Naous, Maciej Stuhr and Agata Kulesza. It dramatizes the plight of migrants caught in the Belarus–European Union border crisis.

The film competed for the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize. It received positive reviews from critics but was condemned by Polish government officials and by some segments of the wider Polish nation. It was released in Poland on 22 September by Kino Świat.

Plot

"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 caught in a geopolitical crisis triggered 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 refugee family intertwine."

Production

Green Border is a co-production between Poland, France, the Czech Republic and Belgium. It was produced by Marcin Wierzchosławski (Metro Films), Fred Bernstein (Astute Films), and Agnieszka Holland. It was co-produced by Maria Blicharska, Damien McDonald (Blick Productions), Šárka Cimbalová (Marlene Film Production) and Diana Elbaum, David Ragonig (Beluga Tree). The film is supported by Eurimages, the Czech Film Fund, the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), Sofica La Banque Postale Image 17, the Centre du Cinema et de L'Audiovisuel de la Federation Wallonie Bruxelles, CANAL+ Poland, Czech Television and ZDF/ARTE.

Holland made the decision to begin work on the film in September 2021; she and her two fellow screenwriters "documented [the border crisis] very deeply" when writing the screenplay, with this research including hundreds of hours of document analysis and of interviews with refugees, borderland residents, activists and experts, as well as testimony by anonymous Polish Border Guard officers.[7] While Holland wanted to start filming as soon as the screenplay was finished, financial pressures meant that she had to wait a year to do so. It was decided that the film would be shot in black-and-white as it was thought that to do so would be "metaphorical, and somehow connected to the past, the Second World War, documentary-like", in addition to allowing for better visual and artistic control considering the shooting and editing schedule.

Principal photography was conducted between April[8] and May 2023; it lasted for twenty-four days and involved three units (Holland's unit being the primary one). Many film crew members took "low or no salaries". Holland claimed that "[e]verything that happens in the film is documented; nothing is invented", but added that she and the other filmmakers "did some construction" and that the film's characters are "inspired by real people but composed".

Release

Green Border was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film Festival,[9] where it had its world premiere on 5 September 2023. Following screenings at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival and 2023 New York Film Festival.[10] [11] [12] It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'Icon' section and was screened on 7 October 2023.[13] The film will be screened at the Vatican as part of the 27th Tertio Millenio Film Festival in November 2023, being announced as the winner of the festival's Special Fuoricampo Prize beforehand.[14]

The film was theatrically released in Poland by Kino Świat on 22 September 2023.[15] By government order, "studio cinemas" (Polish: Kina studyjne - these are generally independent cinemas that receive government backing) seeking to screen the film were required to show a video presenting the government perspective on the border crisis prior to the actual screening.[16] In Otwock, a cinema (Kino Oaza) that was due to show the film later removed it from its schedule. Kino Oaza is run by Otwock's city council, which claimed that the cinema is often forced to change its schedule or suspend screenings entirely due to having to share its premises with a playhouse; however, the city mayor, Jarosław Margielski, is a Law and Justice member and so at least one councillor suggested the possibility of politically motivated censorship. As Kino Oaza is the only cinema in Otwock, the cancellation of its screenings of Green Border means that residents would only be able to see the film if they travelled to another locality. Agnieszka Holland retorted that Law and Justice ended up losing local elections in Ostrołęka after that city's council acted similarly to prevent screenings of Kler.[17] [18] In Kędzierzyn-Koźle, the Nicolaus Copernicus Second General Education Liceum (Polish: II Liceum Ogólnokształcącego im. Mikołaja Kopernika) was due to send its pupils to a screening of the film, but this was blocked by Law and Justice supporters whose children were enrolled with the liceum. The idea of a school trip to see the film was originally that of Marzanna Gądek-Radwanowska, a teacher at the liceum who also happened to be a Civic Platform candidate in the then-upcoming parliamentary election.[19]

International sales are handled by Films Boutique. Distribution rights were purchased by Condor Distribution (France), September Film (Benelux), Movies Inspired (Italy), Leopardo Filmes (Portugal), MCF Megacom (the Balkans), and AQS (Czech Republic and Slovakia),[20] as well as by Vercine (Spain), Panda Lichtspiele (Austria), Kino Pavasaris (the Baltics), Art Fest (Bulgaria), Magic Box (Slovakia), Fivia (Slovenia), Vertigo (Hungary), Bio Paradis (Iceland), Transformer Inc. (Japan), Piffl Medien (Germany), Lev Cinema (Israel), Trigon (Switzerland), Moving Turtle (Middle East and North Africa), Danaos Films (Greece), Arthouse Traffic (Ukraine), Kino Lorber (United States) and Modern Films (United Kingdom).[21]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 81 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's consensus reads, "With unyielding clarity, Green Border renders a compassionate portrait of the unmerciful landscape that flanks the Polish-Belarusian border."[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[23]

Non-Polish reviews

The Guardians Peter Bradshaw assessed the film as being a difficult but vital cinematic experience.[24] Jo-Ann Titmarsh of the London Evening Standard praised Holland for unsubtly displaying her "righteous indignation", but not letting it overpower the film.[25] Rodrigo Perez of The Playlist similarly called it a "righteous, masterful work, arguably her best since Europa Europa."[26] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter hailed the execution and precision of the film's multiple storylines, which she wrote "make for a bracing, impassioned skein of humanist cinema, old-school in technique but right up to the moment in terms of its subject matter."[27] Screen Internationals Wendy Ide echoed praise of the film's "supremely confident handling of a fractured, fragmented structure and its twin driving forces of compassion and fury."[28]

In a less favourable review, Kevin Maher of The Times acknowledged the film as "expertly made, and harrowing", but criticized its dialogue as "podium-speak, ramming manifestos into the mouths of characters and transforming every scene into a Manichean struggle between the forces of darkness and light." Maher ultimately panned the film as being nothing more than misery porn, lacking the nuance of other modern refugee dramas such as For Sama (2019), Flee (2021) and Tori and Lokita (2022).[29]

Polish government response

Government ministers

Green Border was consistently criticised by ministers from the Law and Justice-led Second Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki:

Holland responded to Ziobro's comments by saying that the government was afraid of her film's depiction of the crisis. She called Ziobro's comments defamation and announced that she would be pursuing legal action for the same and for hate speech unless she received an apology within seven days.[41] [42] At the film's Warsaw premiere, Holland spoke more generally about government criticism of her, saying that she had expected hatred to come her way for making the film "but not so brutally and from the highest government bodies [...] we are no longer in the country we would like to be in if the highest authorities direct a hate campaign against the creator and the film." Gazeta Wyborcza published an open letter with over 500 signatories condemning the attacks by public officials and expressing full solidarity with Holland.[43] Virtually all ministerial comments were made prior to the film's release or otherwise without seeing the full film and were therefore based mostly on the film's trailer and other promotional materials as well as second-hand accounts.

Border Guard

On 8 September 2023, a union representing members of the Polish Border Guard's Nadwiśle division published a press release titled ""Green Border" - Only pigs go to the cinema" (Polish: ""Zielona Granica" - tylko świnie siedzą w kinie") in which they lambasted the film as, among other things, being "a scandalous, anti-Polish film [...] that glorifies the pathological phenomenon of illegal immigration", being a "propaganda product", and slandering the Polish state as an "inhumane dictatorship" and Poles who were patrolling the Belarusian-Polish border as "soulless guard dogs of an oppressive regime". The authors of the press release claimed that to distribute the film was to incur "disgrace and the deepest contempt" and, in criticising Holland's portrayal of engineers, doctors, and writers being among the migrants, challenged her to tell Border Guard officers that the thrown objects they were being attacked with were merely "calipers, stethoscopes, and pen nibs".[44] [45] [46] The phrase "Only pigs go to the cinema" (Polish: "Tylko świnie siedzą w kinie") was originally associated with opposition to Nazi propaganda films screened in Poland during its occupation by Nazi Germany; its usage in the press release thus formed yet another part of efforts to compare Holland's work to such propaganda.[47]

Anna Michalska, a Border Guard lieutenant who often serves as a spokeswoman for the service, said that while the press release was merely the opinion of the union members rather than the actual Nadwiśle Border Guard division, many Border Guard officers were indignant at what she called a "shameful and harmful film"; likewise, she said that, while the Border Guard respects artistic freedom, the film did not have any factual basis. Michalska claimed that the film does not show the perspective of Border Guard officers, even though one of the principal actors (Tomasz Włosok) portrays such an officer (Jan), and then went on to decry the film as being a "deliberately created offensive film which does not tell the reality" and to state that "as officers [...] of the Border Guard, we firmly oppose all who slander the uniform". When asked if anyone from the Border Guard had seen the film, Michalska said that neither the film's plot nor its portrayal of the Border Guard were unknown;[48] she then claimed to have personally seen the full film herself despite it having yet to be screened in Poland at the time of her statement and despite there being no evidence of a delegation from the Border Guard or the Polish state in general at the Venice Film Festival screening, and would repeatedly refuse to say how she had supposedly done so. When challenged about this on a later occasion, she insisted that she knew "every minute" of the film.[49] [50] In a later Polskie Radio 24 interview, Michalska again claimed that the film was pure fiction and that it showed nothing from a Border Guard perspective. She also said that the filmmakers did not consult the Border Guard with regards to the film; while this may be true for the Border Guard proper, Holland claimed during the Venice Film Festival that she did have input from individual Border Guard officers who contacted her anonymously.

Popular response in Poland

Box office

According to Kino Świat, Green Border was seen by over 137,000 people during its opening weekend; this would be a record result for Polish films that premiered in their home country during 2023.[51] [52] That result was later surpassed by The Peasants, making Green Border the second biggest opening weekend for a Polish film of 2023.[53]

Review bombing

In the weeks leading up to the film's release, pro-government and nationalist individuals organised a review bombing campaign on Filmweb; out of 78 ratings on the site as of 6 September 2023, the average score was just 2.0 out of a possible 10. This was in stark contrast to the film's approval rating of what was then 88% on Rotten Tomatoes as well as a review by Filmweb's own critic, Jakub Popielecki, who gave 8 out of 10. Comments and forum posts on Filmweb's page for the film acted as an extension of the campaign, with one of the more popular posts calling for a boycott of what the post's author deemed to be "anti-Polish trash"; many posts also directed strongly worded criticism or indeed invective at Holland and at the film's cast. As with the comments by public officials, the campaign was based mostly on promotional materials rather than the film itself.[54] [55] [56] As of 11 September, the film was rated by over 5,500 users and had an average score of 2.5 out of 10;[57] at a later point, this fell to 2.3 out of 10 based on the ratings of over 8,000 users. Filmweb's deputy editor-in-chief Łukasz Muszyński said that the situation surrounding the ratings was "unprecdented" and that, while the site's users do occasionally leave ratings that are not based on a film's artistic merit, this phenomenon was being taken "to an extreme" with regards to Green Border. Muszyński said that Filmweb was monitoring the situation and that, in addition to general moderation of user comments, it had disabled comments on news about the film and on professional critics' reviews; in the latter case, he noted that the comments did not express an opinion so much as they consisted "purely of invective". Muszyński said that user ratings were an integral part of Filmweb and similar websites and so the ability to rate the film would be left in place, but the film's page was later modified to only display ratings based on professional critics' opinion of the film; these produced an initial average score of 7.6 out of 10, with a later score standing at 7.8 out of 10.

Protests and counter-protests

Some cinemas showing the film were subject to protests organised by those who supported the government or the political parties comprising it. There were also counter-protests organised by those who supported the film or were generally critical of how the Polish government was handling the border crisis.[58]

Oscar submission

The film was tipped by some to be Poland's entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards, but the judging committee ultimately chose to nominate The Peasants (Polish: Chłopi) by four votes to Green Borders two. Following the nomination process, Holland claimed to have been told by several committee members that, while her film would have been the better choice to be nominated, they feared that doing so would lead to government reprisals in the form of restricted or withheld funding for future film projects; she did, however, add that she was unsure whether her production would have had the means to launch an independent Academy Awards campaign. Ewa Puszczyńska, the head of the judging committee, insisted that the committee was independent, that its members voted purely in accordance with their conscience, and that the result of the nomination process had been arrived at after deep discussion.[59]

Awards and nominations

Green Border won or was nominated for the following awards:

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)Result
Venice Film Festival9 September 2023Golden LionAgnieszka Holland[60]
Special Jury Prize[61]
ARCA CinemaGiovani Award - Best Film of Venezia 80[62]
Premio CinemaSarà
Green Drop Award
Leoncino d'Oro Award - Cinema for UNICEF
Sorriso Diverso Venezia Award - Best Foreign Film
UNIMED Award - Prize for Cultural Diversity
Valladolid International Film Festival28 October 2023Golden Spike[63]
Tertio Millenio Film Festival13 November 2023Special Fuoricampo Prize
European Film Awards9 December 2023Best FilmGreen Border[64]
Best European DirectorAgnieszka Holland
Best European ScreenwriterAgnieszka Holland, Gabriela Łazarkiewicz-Sieczko, Maciej Pisuk
University Film AwardGreen Border[65]
IndieWire Critics Poll11 December 2023Best Films Opening in 2024[66]
International Film Festival Rotterdam4 February 2024Audience Award[67]
Polish Film Awards4 March 2024Best FilmAgnieszka Holland[68]
International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights18 March 2024Youth Jury Prize – Fiction CompetitionAgnieszka Holland[69]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: "Zieloną granicę" Agnieszki Holland obejrzało w weekend 137 tys. widzów. Tegoroczny rekord polskiego fllmu . Wirtualne Media . 27 September 2023 . pl . 26 September 2023.
  2. Web site: ZIELONA GRANICA. Kino Świat. 3 October 2023.
  3. Web site: HRANICE. Bioscop. 3 October 2023.
  4. Web site:
  5. Web site: Green Border . 12 August 2023 . Film at Lincoln Center . en.
  6. 27722543. Green Border (2023). 8 July 2024. yes.
  7. Web site: Polska . Magdalena . "Zielona granica". Rzeczniczka Straży Granicznej twierdzi, że film "szkaluje mundur" . . 17 September 2023 . pl . 13 September 2023.
  8. Web site: Zdanowska . Marta . Agnieszka Holland kręci film o kryzysie na granicy z Białorusią. "W Polsce rasizm jest odarty z maski, kostiumu" . Tok FM . pl . 27 September 2023 . 9 April 2023.
  9. Web site: Venice Film Festival Lineup: Mann, Lanthimos, Fincher, DuVernay, Cooper, Besson, Coppola, Hamaguchi In Competition; Polanski, Allen, Anderson, Linklater Out Of Competition – Full List. Tartaglione. Nancy. 25 July 2023. Deadline. 9 August 2023.
  10. Web site: TIFF 2023 Centerpiece Program Showcases Aki Kaurismäki, Wim Wenders, Agnieszka Holland, and More. Lattanzio. Ryan. 10 August 2023. IndieWire. 12 August 2023.
  11. Web site: VIFF 2023: Green Border . 12 September 2023 . Vancouver International Film Festival . en-US.
  12. Rubin. Rebecca. 8 August 2023. New York Film Festival Unveils 2023 Lineup: 'Zone of Interest,' 'Poor Things,' 'Anatomy of a Fall' and More. Variety. 12 August 2023.
  13. Web site: The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List. Busan International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. 11 September 2023. en. 15 September 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230915141852/https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/program/prog_all_list.asp?allYear=2023. dead.
  14. Web site: Agnieska Holland's 'Green Border' Set For Vatican Screening & Fuoricampo Prize . . Goodfellow. Melanie . 26 September 2023 . 26 September 2023.
  15. Web site: ZIELONA GRANICA. Kino Świat. pl. 19 August 2023.
  16. Web site: Tilles . Daniel . Government to show "special clip" in cinemas before screenings of "anti-Polish" Green Border film . Notes from Poland . 27 September 2023 . 21 September 2023.
  17. Web site: Kozłowski . Marcin . "Zielona Granica" miała być wyświetlana w Otwocku. Seanse odwołano. "Ktoś musiał zadzwonić" . . 12 September 2023 . pl . 12 September 2023.
  18. Web site: "Zielona granica" Agnieszki Holland nie dla wszystkich. Pokazy filmu zostały odwołane . . 12 September 2023 . pl . 12 September 2023.
  19. Web site: Wysocki . Alan . Chciała zabrać uczniów na "Zieloną granicę". Wycieczkę do kina zablokowano . . 27 September 2023 . pl . 22 September 2023.
  20. Barraclough. Leo. Keslassy. Elsa. 18 May 2023. Films Boutique Sells Agnieszka Holland's 'The Green Border' to Multiple Territories (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. 19 August 2023.
  21. Agnieszka Holland's 'Green Border' Acquired for the U.S. and U.K. by Kino Lorber, Modern Films (EXCLUSIVE). Keslassy. Elsa. Variety. 21 November 2023. 31 January 2024.
  22. Green Border. m. green_border. 13 August 2024. yes.
  23. green-border. movie. Green Border. 12 July 2024. yes.
  24. News: Bradshaw. Peter. Peter Bradshaw. 5 September 2023. Green Border review – gripping story of refugees' fight for survival in the forest. The Guardian. 18 September 2023.
  25. News: Titmarsh. Jo-Ann. 8 September 2023. Green Border at the Venice Film Festival: refugee drama should be required viewing for all. London Evening Standard. 18 September 2023.
  26. Web site: 'Green Border' Review: Agnieszka Holland Won't Let You Turn A Blind Eye To Suffering In Devastating Refugee Drama [TIFF]]. Perez. Rodrigo. 12 September 2023. The Playlist. 18 September 2023.
  27. Felperin. Leslie. 5 September 2023. 'Green Border' Review: Agnieszka Holland's Knockout Drama Follows Refugees Stuck in Limbo. The Hollywood Reporter. 18 September 2023.
  28. Ide. Wendy. 5 September 2023. 'Green Border': Venice Review. Screen International. 18 September 2023.
  29. News: Maher. Kevin. Kevin Maher (writer). Venice Film Festival 2023 reviews: the best and worst films. live. The Times. https://archive.today/20230918055640/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/venice-film-festival-2023-best-worst-films-movies-reviews-7w3wsz8gd. 18 September 2023. 18 September 2023. subscription.
  30. Web site: Polish official harshly criticizes film that explores migration crisis at Poland-Belarus border. Gera. Vanessa. 5 September 2023. AP. 6 September 2023.
  31. Web site: Tilles . Daniel . Director to sue Polish justice minister for likening film critical of migrant treatment to Nazi propaganda . Notes from Poland . 7 September 2023 . 7 September 2023.
  32. Web site: Tilles . Daniel . God's judgement more important than court's, says Polish justice minister as director prepares to sue . Notes from Poland . 15 September 2023 . 15 September 2023.
  33. Web site: Ptak . Alicja . Court bans Poland's justice minister from linking director and her film to Nazi propaganda . Notes from Poland . 27 September 2023 . 27 September 2023.
  34. Web site: Kamiński zapowiada odpowiedź na film Holland: Pokażemy, jak jest to obraz zakłamany, to nie jest istniejąca rzeczywistość . wPolityce.pl . 14 September 2023 . pl . 14 September 2023.
  35. Web site: Godziński . Bartosz . "Białoruska propaganda zachwycona". Kolejny minister atakuje film Agnieszki Holland . . 11 September 2023 . pl . 11 September 2023.
  36. Web site: Przemysław Czarnek "dziękuje" Agnieszce Holland za film "Zielona granica" . . 12 September 2023 . pl . 12 September 2023.
  37. Web site: Czarnek uderza w Holland. "To kolejna faza plucia na polski mundur" . . 12 September 2023 . pl . 12 September 2023.
  38. Web site: Oprzędek . Ireneusz . Przemysław Czarnek zaatakował Agnieszkę Holland. Tego zdania nie da się zapomnieć . . 27 September 2023 . pl . 20 September 2023.
  39. Web site: Bielenia . Tomasz . Marcin Przydacz o filmie "Zielona granica": Było wiadomo, że będzie tendencyjny . . 12 September 2023 . pl . 12 September 2023.
  40. Web site: Zygiel . Adam . Rząd oburzony filmem Holland. Ostre słowa Dworczyka . . 14 September 2023 . pl . 14 September 2023.
  41. Web site: Vourlias . Christopher . Agnieszka Holland Calls Out Polish Minister's 'Hate Speech' Comparing Refugee Drama 'Green Border' to Nazi Propaganda (EXCLUSIVE) . . 7 September 2023 . 6 September 2023.
  42. Web site: Gera . Vanessa . Polish director demands apology from justice minister for comparing her film to Nazi propaganda . . 11 September 2023 . 7 September 2023.
  43. News: 8 September 2023. "Podły komentarz ministra obraża Rzeczpospolitą". List wsparcia dla Agnieszki Holland. Gazeta Wyborcza. pl. 11 September 2023.
  44. Web site: Ambroziak . Anton . "Tylko świnie siedzą w kinie" – związkowcy Straży Granicznej do Agnieszki Holland . . 12 September 2023 . pl . 8 September 2023.
  45. Web site: Mokrzanowska . Anna . SG nie zostawiła suchej nitki na filmie "Zielona granica" Holland. "Tylko świnie siedzą w kinie" . . 12 September 2023 . pl . 8 September 2023.
  46. Web site: Strażnicy graniczni piszą do Agnieszki Holland. "Niech pani to powie" . . 12 September 2023 . pl . 9 September 2023.
  47. Web site: Leszczyński . Adam . Hejt na Holland. O co chodzi z "tylko świnie siedzą w kinie" i jak PiS ukradł hasło z czasów wojny . . 27 September 2023 . pl . 22 September 2023.
  48. Web site: "Zielona granica" Agnieszki Holland zmiażdżona przez SG. "Szkalowanie munduru" . . 17 September 2023 . pl . 13 September 2023.
  49. Web site: Godziński . Bartosz . Rzeczniczka Straży Granicznej atakuje "Zieloną granicę". Nie powiedziała, gdzie widziała film . . 17 September 2023 . pl . 16 September 2023.
  50. Web site: Gulda . Przemek . "Znam każdą minutę tego filmu". Rzeczniczka Straży Granicznej się zarzeka. Ale jest pewien problem . . 17 September 2023 . pl . 15 September 2023.
  51. Web site: "Zieloną granicę" Agnieszki Holland obejrzało w weekend 137 tys. widzów. Tegoroczny rekord polskiego fllmu . Wirtualne Media . 27 September 2023 . pl . 26 September 2023.
  52. Web site: Roxborough . Scott . Oscars 2024: Poland Picks 'The Peasants' Over 'The Green Border' After Government Attacks . . 27 September 2023 . 25 September 2023.
  53. Web site: Rekordowy wynik „Chłopów" w kinach . 26 October 2023 . Rzeczpospolita . pl.
  54. Web site: Chojnacka . Joanna . Nie widzieli "Zielonej granicy", a już ma średnią ocen 2/10. Trolle: Bojkotować to antypolskie ścierwo! . . 11 September 2023 . pl . 6 September 2023.
  55. Web site: Bezprecedensowy hejt na "Zieloną granicę". Jest reakcja władz Filmwebu . . 12 September 2023 . pl . 12 September 2023.
  56. News: Dróżdż. Dawid. 12 September 2023. Anatomia szczujni. Hejt na "Zieloną granicę" wygląda jak zmasowany atak trolli. Gazeta Wyborcza. pl. 15 September 2023. subscription.
  57. Web site: Rogowska . Katarzyna . "Zielona granica" na Filmwebie - obejrzała garstka, oceniły tysiące. "Sytuacja bez precedensu" . Tok FM . 12 September 2023 . pl . 11 September 2023.
  58. Web site: Wyrwik . Anna . Protest przed krakowskim kinem przeciw filmowi "Zielona granica" . . pl . 27 September 2023 . 21 September 2023.
  59. Web site: Hollender . Barbara . "Chłopi" polskim kandydatem do Oscara . . 27 September 2023 . pl . 25 September 2023.
  60. Web site:
  61. Web site: Venice Winners: Golden Lion Goes To Yorgos Lanthimos For 'Poor Things'; Hamaguchi, Sarsgaard, Spaeny Also Score — Full List. Deadline. Nancy. Tartaglione. Zac. Ntim. 9 September 2023. 9 September 2023.
  62. Web site: COLLATERAL AWARDS OF THE 80TH VENICE FILM FESTIVAL. La Biennale di Venezia. 8 September 2023. 9 September 2023.
  63. Web site: Valladolid's Seminci celebrates its first edition directed by José Luis Cienfuegos. Rivera. Alfonso. 19 October 2023. Cineuropa. 29 October 2023.
  64. Web site: 'Fallen Leaves' & 'The Zone Of Interest' Top European Film Award Nominations In Main Categories. Goodfellow. Melanie. Deadline Hollywood. 7 November 2023. 7 November 2023.
  65. Web site: These are the five nominated films for European University Film Award (EUFA) . 5 October 2023 . europeanfilmawards.eu . en.
  66. Web site: Blauvelt . Christian . December 11, 2023 . 2023 Critics Poll: The Best Films and Performances, According to 158 Critics from Around the World . December 11, 2023 . . en-US . December 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231221140607/https://www.indiewire.com/features/best-of/best-movies-2023-critics-survey-poll-performances-1234933605/ . live .
  67. News: IFFR Audience Award . IFFR . 4 February 2024. 4 February 2024. en.
  68. News: Laureaci 26. edycji Polskich Nagród Filmowych Orły.
  69. Web site: The 22nd FIFDH announces its award winners. Economou. Vassilic. 2024-03-18. Cineuropa. 2024-04-19.