Agnieska Holland’s ‘Green Border’ Set For Vatican Screening & Fuoricampo Prize
26.09.2023 - 19:39
/ deadline.com
Agnieszka Holland is headed to the Vatican for a screening of her migrant crisis drama Green Border, following its selection for its 27th Tertio Millenio Film Festival in November.
The Polish director will also receive the festival’s Special Fuoricampo Prize in the Vatican Library on November 13, ahead of the screening in the presence of top Vatican representatives.
The news follows in the wake of a political backlash and online hate campaign against Holland and the film in Poland, where its depiction of the mistreatment of migrants on its border with Belarus has touched a raw nerve with the country’s right-wing government.
News of the Vatican honor went viral in the devoutly Roman Catholic country and provoked consternation on government-affiliated media outlets.
RELATED: ‘Green Border’ Review: Agnieszka Holland’s Humanitarian Masterpiece Offers A Harrowing Vision Of The Refugee Crisis In Europe – Venice Film Festival
The annual Fuoricampo prize is assigned to a film that has “explored themes linked to the deepest meaning of life and shaken consciences”, according to the festival the organizers.
Past winners of the award, launched in 2017, have included Praveen Morchale’s Walking in the Wind, Paul Barakat’s Kairos, Rodrigo and Sebastián Barriuso’s A Translator, Pavel G. Vesnakov’s German Lessons and Bogdan George Apetri’s Miracle.
The Tertio Millenio Film Festival was founded by the Polish Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyła, who was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 and later canonized as Pope Saint John Paul in 2014.
The theme of the 27th edition is “Harmony in Difference” and takes inspiration from an address made by Pope Francis earlier this year.
It has not been confirmed whether Holland will have an audience