IDFA 2024: The Guest (dirs. Zvika Gregory Portnoy, Zuzanna Solakiewicz) | Review

In 2021, the border area between Poland and Belarus became a forbidden zone. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko initiated a new migration route, primarily involving people from the Middle East and North Africa seeking to enter the European Union. Belarus supposedly guaranteed free passage to the EU, but in Poland, the refugees met with pushback, forcing them back across the border. Once in Belarus again, they were driven back towards Poland, becoming brutally trapped in a political game between the two countries. In response, the Polish government created a restricted zone along the green border to prevent crossings into the EU, marked by a large fence designed to make it harder for refugees to enter. The zone stretches approximately 3 kilometers wide along the border; media and refugee aid organizations are not allowed to enter the area, only local residents and armed forces are permitted to stay inside.

The film kicks off on an appropriately intense note at the refugees’ graveyard on the edge of the forest. Dozens of Muslim graves are aligned, but there’s space for more, said one of our characters. While some of the graves have proper headstones, many are marked only by uninscribed stones. We can hear the chirping of birds and the gentle rustling of the wind; for a moment of silence, this heart-wrenching scene portrays the vulnerability of life as migrants.

Earlier this year, a documentary titled Forest delved into a couple endeavoring to establish a safe haven for their children in Białowieża Forest, which changed significantly as strangers and others arrived when this border conflict encroached upon their sanctuary. In The Guest, Zvika and Zuzanna plunge us into a small village in the restricted zone.

Maciek lives with his family on the Polish side of the border and has taken in an exhausted Syrian refugee, Alhyder (27), when he knocked on Maciek’s door one night seeking refuge after weeks in the forest. Despite the language barrier, they form a strong bond. Maciek’s house features bright green walls, a fireplace, and numerous taxidermied animals. Sunlight pours through the windows, casting warmth for their “guest.” In contrast, on the outside, we have a different atmosphere. Along a path lined with dense trees, border guards and helicopters are roaming, searching for their “prey.” The migrants often describe themselves as animals being hunted in the forest.

Director Zvika, who also operated as a cinematographer, captures the emotions on the faces of a Polish family in confusion with their guest; one of them even imagined what would happen if their guest detonated the bomb in his bag. But their guest, Alhyder—with long nails, a messy mustache, and chapped lips—postures a fear and shock, though his eyes conveyed a sense of gratitude toward his host.

The Guest will not only examine the dynamics between the host and the guest in their home but will also take us into the forest itself to confront the horrors of the refugee crisis. Zvika and Zuzanna, who previously worked together on the short film Good News, an 11-minute film about activists venturing into the Białowieża Forest to deliver necessary items to the refugees hiding there, bring us harrowing and raw scenes. We found a dead body lying on the forest floor, a Muslim woman left to freeze and starve in the dark—scenes in an inhospitable landscape of treacherous marshes that are a stark testament to the brutality of the authorities and the system in which we live. The Guest is a brutal and traumatic experience to watch, but it is also a vital work that studies the humanitarian rights of the ongoing crisis, delivering a serious punch.

The Guest was previously pitched at Visions du Réel last year and is produced by Maria Krauss for Plesnar and Krauss Films and co-produced by Robert Banasiak for Wroclaw Feature Film Studio and Fatma Riahi of Al Jazeera Documentary, with co-financing by the Polish Film Institute. Directors Zvika and Zuzanna have been collaborating together for over 12 years. Zuzanna’s debut documentary, 15 Corners of the World, won Best Film at the Locarno Critics’ Week in 2014 with Zvika as a cinematographer. Zvika debuted with the documentary Dramas in 2017, with Zuzanna serving as the cinematographer and editor of the film. The couple recently also premiered their other collaborative project 8th Day of Khamsin at the 2024 Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival, with Zvika as a director and cinematographer and Zuzanna as an editor. The Guest is their first feature documentary in which they share directorial credits.