Polish Hospitality: short doc on refugees

DOCUMENTARY: This film documents the dire humanitarian crisis of non-white refugees stranded on the Poland-Belarus border and explores the local activist interventions to address the situation. The film aims to draw international attention and spark the political will to redress this crisis, which is both acute and chronic, and requires urgent and strategic intervention.

NEED: We are currently in post-production—the final phase of the project and need funds for editing, sound mixing, color grading, and finishing.

TOPIC SUMMARY: On 12 April 2022 a five-second video surfaced on Facebook. The first frame shows a teen-aged boy in a purplish-blue parka reclining. Strands of brown curls frame his face. The boy’s lips, darkened with blood or bruises, are parched and slightly parted, his long-lashed lids closed. Press play and you will see a hand enter the frame and force open the boy’s right eyelid, revealing the dark of the iris and pupil seemingly staring up, unresponsive.

A short description offers context for the scene: a 16-year-old Yemeni boy was brutally beaten by Belarusian authorities and left unconscious for two days without medical care. He is one of thousands of refugees—mostly from the Middle East—attempting to enter Poland to seek asylum in the European Union. The ambiguity of the unseeing eye—a sign of death or unconsciousness—is unsettling.

As of 26 May 2022, Poland has welcomed 3,463,320 Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. This is a welcome and much-needed intervention. Yet, the Polish administration refuses to admit non-white asylum seekers stuck in limbo on the border between Poland and Belarus since 8 August 2021. According to Amnesty International, these refugees have been lured to Belarus by the Belarusian’s government’s false promise of an easy and safe crossing into the EU. These men, women, and children have been stranded for weeks and months, at times in freezing temperatures, in a makeshift camp with inadequate food supplies and no medical care. Reports indicate that at least 21 migrants have died as a direct result of these inhumane conditions. This too is a border crisis, one that has been vastly underreported.

We cannot sit by passively while this horrific situation continues. This humanitarian crisis requires urgent intervention, and for this reason I am asking for funds to support the making of a short documentary. The film will document the unfolding situation at the Belarus-Poland border—including grassroots interventions—and bring together a coalition of experts and activists to support making a change. The film is part of a larger strategic plan to draw awareness and prompt humanitarian intervention to help this group of migrants. I am a professor researching forced migration and will work with documentary filmmaker Trevor Meier. Your donations will support production costs for the film.

ABOUT US:

Dominika Laster is a scholar, artist, and activist. She is associate professor of theatre and performance studies at the University of New Mexico. Her current research explores forced migration and practices of hospitality. She has extensive experience working with refugees and vulnerable communities in the United States, North Africa, and the Middle East. She is the "Books" Editor of The Drama Review (TDR) and Co-Editor of European Stages. Dominika is also the Executive Director of Performance in the Peripheries: performanceperipheries.com

Trevor Meier is an experienced documentary filmmaker. His films have been distributed on CBC, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, as well as extensive private work with organizations such as the Clinton Foundation. He’s filmed in over 40 countries and specializes in projects that require a highly sensitive, careful, caring approach.