'Where can I go?' Andrzej wonders. 'This is my fate, it can't be helped. As the manager of restaurant 'In het Hert', Andrzej is the main figure in this documentary about a community that since recently comes under the European Union and lives around the Notecka forest in Western Poland, near the German border.
A cemetery with deceased western neighbours has become overgrown with weeds, but nobody tidies it up: 'You know what we think of those Germans'. An artist painting the picturesque surroundings finds it hard to join in with the other locals: 'Every social contact involves booze, and I don't drink.
It was discovered recently that the largest oil field in Poland lies below the forest. The exploitation has commenced; trees are cut down. As yet, the economic profit of the largely unemployed people in the area is minimal, but nobody worries about it. The illegal trade in fish, cigarettes and cars keeps the wolf from the door. For the rest, people manage to survive with the help of cynical humour and unruffled resilience.
Credits
Director
Producer
Scenario
Camera
Set geluid
Sound Design
Montage
Muziek
Production company
Volya Films
TV company
NTR
NFF Archive
You are now in the NFF Archive. The archive contains contains information on film, TV and interactive productions that were screened at past festival editions. The NFF does not dispose of this material. For this, please contact the producer, distributor or broadcaster. Sometimes, older films can also be found at the Eye Film Museum or the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.