Silent Trees

by Agnieszka Zwiefka
  • 2024 Chilli Productions
  • 2024 Chilli Productions  | ma.ja.de.
  • 2024 Chilli Productions  | ma.ja.de.

    Synopsis

    When her mother dies in the forest on the Polish-Belarusian border, a 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. The film is a partially animated coming of age story in the times of the global refugee crisis.

    Festivals

    2024
    21 CPH:DOX Copenhagen
    DocAviv
    31 Hot Docs Toronto
    39 DOK.fest Munich
    64 Krakow FF ((KFF recommendation to the European Film Award in a documentary category, Special Mention in the international competition, Golden Hobby-Horse for the director of the best documentary film above 30 minutes, Special Mention for Runa - the protagonist of the film)
    Tallinn Black Nights FF