POLYLAND gives a voice to three strong female characters from different minorities in Poland and explores the nuances of how it feels to be black, Muslim or LGBTQ+ in the most homogenous country in an ever more right-leaning Europe. POLYLAND’s three women were all born in Poland and currently are citizens of Wroclaw, the biggest city in Western Poland. Ania, Miriam and Elmelda seek to be seen, not as “the other”, but as a part of Polish society.
Their efforts involve creating self-help groups, organising protests and appearances on local TV and… Everything appears to be going towards the right direction; the women believe that a liberal society is within reach until the dramatic shift in Polish politics in 2015 shatters their hopes and confidence.
Their wish for belonging reflects many other stories across the world and seems increasingly difficult to achieve in the current political climate of Brexit, Donald Trump and the upsurge of right-wing movement across Europe.
POLYLAND oddaje głos trzem silnym bohaterkom pochodzącym z trzech różnych mniejszości w Polsce; film skupia się na przedstawieniu niuansów bycia czarnoskórym, muzułmaninem albo członkiem społeczności LGBTQ+ w jednym z najbardziej homogenicznych krajów coraz bardziej prawicowej Europy.
Wszystkie trzy kobiety sportretowane w Polyland urodziły się w Polsce i mieszkają we Wrocławiu. Ania, Miriam i Elmelda chcą być usłyszane; nie jako “te inne”, ale jako reprezentantki polskiego społeczeństwa. Film pokazuje ich wysiłki, które obejmują, między innymi, tworzenie grup wsparcia, organizowanie protestów, udzielanie wywiadów w lokalnej telewizji. Wszystko wydaje się iść w dobrą stronę, a kobiety wierzą, że idea liberalnego społeczeństwa jest osiągalna, aż do momentu nagłej zmiany w polskiej scenie politycznej, która rozbija ich nadzieje. Osadzony w jednym mieście, Polyland przygląda się makro-problemom multikulturalizmu, dyskryminacji i odrodzenia populizmu na mikropoziomie. Jednocześnie w szerszym kontekście historia Elmeldy, Miriam i Ani odzwierciedla wiele innych historii rozgrywających się na całym świecie.
ABOUT FILMMAKER:
Dasa Raimanova, originally from Slovakia, is a London based freelance filmmaker. She graduated with BA in Film, Video and Interactive Arts at Middlesex University. Her work explores socio-political topics, generally focussing on the stories of strong women. Polyland is Dasa’s feature debut and together with a social campaign, its aim is to contribute to social change in Poland. Since Polyland’s premier at the LGBT Film festival across five cities, the doc got selected for Sopot Film Festival, Belfast Human Rights Festival, Bristol Radical Film Festival and toured through independently organised screenings across Europe.
Her short documentary ‘Resistance Recipes’, about food and farming highlighting the everyday struggles of Palestinians in the West Bank has been selected for the London, Bristol and Toronto Palestine Film Festivals.
Dasa is about to begin a six months placement at Deutsche Welle (DW), German public broadcaster in Berlin.
Personal statement about Polyland
I am originally from Slovakia, but I spent most of my life abroad. From an early age I was treated as part of a minority and this involved all the negative aspects too: the generalising, the blaming, the inferiority. I always wanted to be treated as an individual and not to answer questions where I am from everyday. But at least I was white, an atheist and heterosexual.
This differs from the characters of my film, where Miriam in the current climate of Islamophobia has to justify her religious beliefs; Elmelda cannot walk in the street without standing out and Ania never feels free to walk down the street with her girlfriend holding hands. But we have shared experiences and a common desire to belong.
Email: polylandfilm@gmail.com
Website: www.polyland.org
FB: https://www.facebook.com/PolylandFilm/