When her mother dies in the forest on the Polish-Belarusian border, 16-year-old Kurdish girl Runa has to quickly grow up to take care of her 4 younger brothers and helpless, depressed father. The family deals with trauma in a refugee camp and tries to establish a new life in Poland. Runa’s greatest fear is being forced to return to Iraq, where Kurds face the threat of ISIS. She wants to live like her newfound European friends and become a lawyer. But just as her dream of going back to school comes true, another threat appears – the threat of deportation. Runa’s escape from everyday problems is a sketchbook filled with drawings that express what she feels. Gradually, her drawings come to life.
Silent Trees
- Agnieszka Zwiefka
- Poland
- 2024
- 84 mins
- Fri Jan 24
- 12:00 PM
- Market Hall
- Virtual / Hybrid Available
After her mom's tragic death on the Polish-Belarusian border, 16-year-old Kurdish girl Runa has to become a mother for her 4 younger brothers. A partially animated coming-of-age story in the times of a global refugee crisis.
- Polish
- Captioned in English
- International Human Rights, Feminist Issues
About the Filmmaker
- Filmmaker: Agnieszka Zwiefka
- Writer: Agnieszka Zwiefka
- Producer: Zofia Kujawska
Agnieszka Zwiefka is an award-winning filmmaker. Her films “The Queen of Silence“ (2014) and “Scars” (2020) were screened at festivals worldwide. In her films she balances between reality and fantasy, creating hybrids that cross the border between documentary and fiction. Member of European Film Academy (EFA). Alumna of workshops Dok.Incubator, ScripTeast, Nipkow Programme and Berlinale Talents as well as Meryl Streep’s and Nicole Kidman’s The Writers Lab.