Between Two Fires

Between Two Fires

Agnieszka Lukasiak

SE
2010
Spielfilm
125’
Focus

»I want to make films that make statistics real. I was struck by a news headline that said that one third of the global population consists of refugees. I remember another article that said about 45 million people will be refugees because of climate change. It‘s a new thing.«
– Agnieszka Lukasiak

The 30-year-old Marta lives in poverty in Belarus and has to protect herself and her ten-year-old daughter, Anna, from her violent husband. Together they flee to the promised land of Sweden  here they end up in a refugee reception centre out in the snowy countryside. As Marta and Anna await the outcome of their application for asylum, Marta befriends Ali, an Algerian, and falls in love with him. At the same time , Bengt, an old-age pensioner, offers to marry her – and thereby secure her and Anna‘s future in Sweden. Initially, Marta chooses love. But the Swedish authorities start to make life difficult (…).
Between Two Fires is the first feature film by Agnieszka Lukasiak, who was born in Poland and grew up in Sweden. The film takes a rigorous immigrant perspective, portraying Sweden as an inhospitable and cold society that remains unmoved by the daily struggle for survival that asylum-seekers have to go through.


Awards for ›Between Two Fires‹
Preis der kirchlichen Filmorganisation Interfilm, Nordische Filmtage Lübeck 2010

Director / Script

Agnieszka Lukasiak

Cinematography

Hubert Taczanowski

Editing

Marcin Bastkowski

Music

Antoni Lazarkiewicz, Jean-Paul Wall

Cast

Magda Poplawska, Simon Kassianides, Kamilla Nowysz, Fredrik Ohlsson

Production

Peter Kropénin, Hob AB, Apple Film Productions

Contact

Swedish Film Institute

Agnieszka Lukasiak

Film Director Agnieszka Lukasiak was born 1977 in Poland and migrated to Sweden from Poland with political refugee status in 1984. She studied at the Theatre High School in Stockholm as well as the National Polish Film School in Lodz. She made several documentary films, short and long, before she made her big breakthrough with Forgotten in 2006. In fact, it won the Best Documentary Award at the Nordisk Panorama film festival as well as being screened at the Nordic Film Days in Lübeck the same year.


Films by Agnieszka Lukasiak
Between Two Fires 2010 | Vergessen 2005 | Y basta! 2003 | Algeria 2002 | Alger 2001 | Bihim 2000 | Error 2000