Agnieszka Holland – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

WEEK IN WOMEN: Agnieszka Holland’s FRANZ opens in US Cinemas – Brandy McDonnell reports

August 16, 2026 Brandy McDonnell Agnieszka Holland, biopic, FRANZ, Franz Kafka, the week in women, twiw

Agnieszka Holland’s Franz, a portrait of legendary writer Franz Kafka, who remains celebrated worldwide for his books, short stories, fables and aphorisms, is bowing in theaters on Aug. 21. Billed as Holland’s most ambitious project to date, her biopic of the iconic 20th-century Czech writer had its world premiere last year at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival. It was nominated for a Golden Seashell at the 2025 San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain, and it became Poland’s official entry to the 98th Academy Awards. For six decades, Holland has remained one of the most compelling filmmakers in global cinema.

Festivals

FALL FESTIVAL PREVIEW 2025 – Christina Jeurling Birro reports

July 29, 2025August 3, 2025 Christina Jeurling Birro Agnieszka Holland, chloe zhao, fall film festivals, Kaouther Ben Hania, kathryn bigelow, laura poitras, Mona Fastvold, nia dacosta, scarlett johansson, sofia coppola, toronto international film festival, Venice International Film Festival

Bigelow’s back, Zhao tackles Shakespeare, and More as the fall film festivals unveil their lineups. The fall film festival season kicks off on the Lido in Venice in less than a month, then rolls on from the mountains of Telluride to Toronto, and beyond. This year promises a strong showing from female directors across many lineups. Here are just a few of the exciting films to keep your eyes on!

Festivals Reviews

GREEN BORDER (Melbourne IFF 2024) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

August 26, 2024August 27, 2024 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Agnieszka Holland, Belarus, Gabriela Lazarkiewicz, Green Border, Maciej Pisuk, Melbourne IFF 2024, Poland, syrian refugees

This is an unambiguously upsetting, distressing viewing experience, and it should be. Yet Agnieszka Holland is never exploitative, but also never softens or shirks from what is a genuinely harrowing story. Green Border is not an easy watch, but it is an indescribably important one, and one of Holland’s most humane and compassionate works yet.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 21, 2024: GREEN BORDER

June 16, 2024June 16, 2024 Jennifer Merin Agnieszka Holland, Belarus, Gabriela Lazarkiewicz, Green Border, Maciej Pisuk, motw, Movie of the Week, Poland, syrian refugees

Harrowing in its brutal depiction of the way that refugees from Africa and the Middle East are treated by authorities on both sides of the vicious barbed-wire fence between Belarus and Poland, Agnieszka Holland’s riveting drama Green Border begs viewers to pay attention to the tragic consequences of dehumanizing the vulnerable people who need help the most. It’s a difficult film to watch — which is exactly why it needs to be seen.

Reviews

GREEN BORDER – Review by Jennifer Merin

June 10, 2024June 15, 2024 Jennifer Merin Agnieszka Holland, Belarus, Gabriela Lazarkiewicz, Green Border, Maciej Pisuk, Poland, syrian refugees

Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border is a documentary-like geopolitical drama about a group of disparate refugees who are seeking asylum from political unrest and poverty in their various homelands. The ‘Green Border’ referred to in the title is a no go zone on both sides of a barbed wire fence that demarks the border between Belarus and Poland. It is a border that refugees from oppressive countries in Africa and the Middle East are desperate to cross because they expect to find safe passage through Poland to freedom and a better life in the European Union. However, they find that safe passage is elusive, if not impossible. Because neither Belarus nor Poland wants them, they are brutally rejected by violent border guards that are commissioned by the virulently right wing xenophobic governments on both sides of the barbed wire.

Festivals

NYFF 2023: Female-Focused Wrap – Margaret Barton-Fumo reports

October 10, 2023October 15, 2023 Margaret Barton-Fumo Agnieszka Holland, Alice Rohrwacher, Catherine Breillat, Deborah Stratman, female filmmakers, Joanna Arnow, justine triet, Lee Grant, Michèle Stephenson, Niki de Saint Phalle, NYFF 2023, Raven Jackson, Rosine Mbakam, sofia coppola

Women directors held their own at this year’s New York Film Festival, with impressive films in each of the fest’s coveted programs, from the Main Slate to Revivals. We’ll dip into each of these categories, singling out some of the lesser-known titles, in a women-focused overview of the fest. Starting off with the generally crowd-pleasing Main Slate, a number of women-directed features stood out (eight out of thirty-two, in fact).

Festivals

New York Film Festival 2023: Female Filmmakers in Focus – Margaret Barton-Fumo reports

September 15, 2023September 16, 2023 Margaret Barton-Fumo Agnieszka Holland, Alice Rohrwacher, Annie Baker, Catherine Breillat, Deborah Stratman, female filmmakers, Joanna Arnow, justine triet, New York Film Festival, Niki de Saint Phalle, NYFF 2023, sofia coppola

The New York Film Festival is set to return to the city with a packed schedule of international films. A little over one-fifth of the features this year are directed by women, with several standouts in the coveted Main Slate. Sofia Coppola’s highly anticipated Priscilla is one such feature, scheduled to be the festival’s “Centerpiece” screening. Many critics are eagerly situating Coppola’s film, which is based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir, Elvis and Me, as the femme-centric antidote to Baz Luhrmann’s bombastic rock ‘n’ roll biopic. All assumed comparisons aside, the subject matter is certainly well-suited to its director, given Coppola’s accomplished history of directing moody tales of alienated women.

Movie of the Week Reviews

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 26, 2020: MR. JONES

June 21, 2020June 26, 2020 Jennifer Merin 0 Comments Agnieszka Holland, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, james norton, jennifer merin, kathia woods, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, marina antunes, motw, Movie of the Week, mr. jones, Pam Grady, peter sarsgaard, sandie angulo chen, truth-based, vanessa kirby

As if we need further proof that cries of “fake news” are desperate attempts of the complicit to deny their wrongdoing, Agnieszka Holland’s truth-based thriller Mr. Jones tells the stirring story of 1930s Welsh journalist Gareth Jones. He broke the story of the Holodomor, a massive engineered famine in Soviet-run Ukraine, only to have his claims declared false by those who sought to champion the Soviet Union’s communist revolution and form advantageous alliances with the powerful nation.

Reviews

MR JONES – Review by Kathia Woods

June 19, 2020June 21, 2020 Kathia Woods 0 Comments Agnieszka Holland, biopic, fames norton, gareth jones, motw, Movie of the Week, mr. jones, truth-based

Mr. Jones is a timely film that focuses on a topic that we find ourselves once again grappling with: Truth in journalism. As our country is fighting for Democracy, accountability and truth, we too often find ourselves struggling to answer the question ‘how did we get here, to this troubled time in our history?’ Mr. Jones answers this question beautifully — but looking back to another troubled time in history when the subject in focus is the Soviet Union and the historic event is the Ukraine famine of 1932-33.