“Green Border” will not compete for an Oscar. Holland explains why. “The authorities would not give up”

Agnieszka Holland was presented to a wider audience for the first time during the 80th Venice Film Festival, winning as many as four awards, including: special jury award. On September 22, 2023, the film was released in cinemas, and the critics’ opinions were overwhelmingly positive. Therefore, many expected that this production would represent Poland at the 2024 Oscars. However, this did not happen.

“Green border”. Holland’s film will not compete for an Oscar. The director commented on the verdict

The Oscar committee, chaired by producer Ewa Puszczyńska, decided that the Polish candidate in the best international feature film category would be the creators of “Loving Vincent”, Dorota Kobiela-Welchman and Hugh Welchman. – This story will be understood all over the world – the head of the jury. Although the verdict turned out to be a surprise for many, Agnieszka Holland expected such a turn of events, especially since “The Green Border” received criticism long before its premiere and was criticized by the country’s most important politicians, as well as Polish Television. – I’m not surprised that our film wasn’t selected – she admitted in an interview with . – Fear gnaws at the soul. Undoubtedly, voting for “The Green Border” would require enormous individual courage among the commission members who depend on the National Film Institute subsidizing their projects. This is not the first time that we have faced economic blackmail in our country, said the director.

For Holland, this is the end of the Oscar fight. Now he explains what influenced the commission’s decision

While the Oscar Committee was deliberating, she gave a foreign interview. For this reason, she could not observe the discussions that took place between the members, which were reportedly very heated. Four of the six jurors supported the final verdict. – I’m curious how the vote was. I regret that I could not observe the proceedings. From behind the scenes, a good cinema of moral concern could certainly be created – she said in the same conversation with Onet. He claims that if the choice fell on , the authorities would certainly do everything to prevent this from happening. – If we were elected, the authorities would not let it go, personal consequences would be drawn. We would have World War III. It ended trivially, but it was also the safest, she said.

Holland is convinced that if someone voted for her painting, they would certainly have problems because of it. – I’m not crying, I have no regrets. I cannot expect people to act against their own interests. I lived in the Polish People’s Republic for long enough to be surprised by such conformist solutions, she emphasized, adding that for her this was the end of the fight for the Oscar, because according to the applicable regulations, no other country can submit a nomination for “The Green Border”. “The film must have the predominant contribution of the country submitting it,” she explained. Finally, she admitted that she has been constantly facing censorship since the premiere. During the festival in Gdynia, organized by Polish Television and the Ministry of Culture, her production was not shown and she did not take part in the competition, and she did not receive an invitation. – I am grateful to those colleagues who had the courage to show me support – she concluded.