Poland 2009, 30 min
director/screenplay: Katarzyna Klimkiewicz | production: Bogusław Kisielewski, Kino Polska | cinematography: Andrzej Wojciechowski | editing: Andrzej Dąbrowski | music: Marzena Majcher | cast: Thu Ha Mai, Le Thanh Hunh, Michał Podsiadło, Klaudia Barcik, Przemek Modliszewski, Viet Dung, Łukasz Pruchniewicz, Tran Thi Thanh Minh, Irwin Wojciechowski
Smuggled across borders, cheated by immoral intermediaries, trailed by police, at the mercy of foreigners – such is the fate of illegal immigrants from Vietnam who try to settle in Poland. Among them is young Mai Anh, whose boyfriend now works at a bazaar in Warsaw. Their meeting in a foreign country will not transpire as they had imagined. This film debut leaves no doubts as to the fate of refugees: in their new lives in the ‘promised land’ they are constantly hounded and frequently need to deny their identity. In the struggle for survival under these new circumstances, such values as solidarity, friendship and love will not prevail. The film’s creators present this phenomenon from a very intimate perspective, without resorting to predictable narrative methods or simple generalisations in their evaluation of the protagonists.

Presented by VIS within the context of:
VIS Vienna Independent Shorts 2011, Short Matters 2