In Polish actor-turned-filmmaker Kasia Smutniak’s documentary “Walls,” she undertakes an uncertain and risky journey into the red zone — a dangerous strip of land in Poland that runs parallel to the Belarus border. Crossing the long border is a 115-mile steel barricade built to repel migrants from entering the European Union in search of refuge. <\/p>\n
Inside the red zone is Poland’s dense Białowieża Forest, known for its swamps, wolf packs, and desperate migrants trapped in political limbo. In “Walls,” which premeired on Sept. 10 at TIFF, Smutniak interviews red zone survivors and activists who describe being beaten and robbed by border guards, mutilated by animals, and barred from claiming asylum.<\/p>\n
Poland’s red zone is also the topic of Agnieszka Holland’s “The Green Border,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. On September 4, Poland’s hard-right justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro compared the refugee drama to Nazi propaganda. “The Green Border” is also screening at TIFF.<\/p>\n
Variety<\/em> spoke with Smutniak, who resides in Italy, about “Walls,” which screens at TIFF on Sept. 12. She is seeking a distributor for the documentary. <\/p>\n What made you want to make “Walls”?<\/strong><\/p>\n I wanted to get the story (about the red zone) out there. I thought, as a regular citizen, what can I do? I could move to the red zone like many people do and start to run in the forest with a backpack, trying to save lives. But I knew that I wasn’t strong enough and I didn’t have the tools. But then I thought, actually, I have one tool, which is really powerful, which is a storytelling and making films. <\/p>\n