Rochester Polish Film Festival

The annual, two-part festival presents classic Polish cinema as well as contemporary works produced by the newest generation of the country's filmmakers. It showcases internationally recognized films that might not otherwise be seen in the area and attracts renowned Polish actors, directors, screenwriters, and critics to Rochester.

The festival is sponsored by the Skalny Center, the Polish Film Institute, the Polish Filmmakers Association, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York and the Polish Heritage Society of Rochester.

Schedule of Events:

7:00 pm: Green Border - 147 minutes

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 trapped in a geopolitical crisis cynically engineered 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.

Having moved to Podlasie region in the north-east of Poland, Julia, a psychologist, becomes an involuntary witness and participant of the dramatic events at the Polish-Belarussian border. Conscious of the risk and legal consequences, she joins a group of activists that help refugees who are camping out in the forests in the state of emergency zone. At the same time, a Syrian family who are fleeing from war and a teacher from Afghanistan are trying to reach the border of the European Union, not realizing that they have become the tool of the Belarussian authorities' political scam. In Poland, fate will bring them together with Julia and a young border patrolman, Jan. The events that engulf them will force them all to pose the following question anew: what is humanity?

Three-time Oscar Nominee Agnieszka Holland's poignant new feature Green Border opens our eyes, speaks to the heart, and challenges us to reflect on the moral choices that fall to ordinary people every day.