The new documentary by award-winning Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Zwiefka, Silent Trees [+lee también:
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Zwiefka – whose last film, Vika!, about the titular, 84-year-old star DJ of Warsaw’s nightclubs, has enjoyed a healthy festival run and is still travelling the world – now trains her lens on a completely different topic: the story of a Kurdish refugee girl stranded in the no man’s land between Belarus and Poland.

Sixteen-year-old Runa and her family are stuck in an icy forest and denied entry into either country. The film begins with Runa being forced to care for her brothers and helpless father after her pregnant mother dies from the harsh conditions. Confined to a Polish refugee camp, the family grapples with trauma and the challenges of adapting to a new life. Runa finds comfort in drawing, which morphs into animated sequences that capture her dreams and nightmares. Silent Trees is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the global refugee crisis, told through a creative fusion of documentary and animation.

The film is a production by Poland’s Chilli Productions, Germany’s Ma.ja.de Filmproduktions and HBO Max, in co-production with SWR, Arte, the Lower Silesia Film Centre, EC1 Łódź – City of Culture, the Gdansk Film Fund, Real Lava, No Problemo Publishing, MX35, Perty Studio and Gradetime. It is supported by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

Check out our exclusive trailer below: