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Behind bars are trees of green

The action takes place in Poland and in the German women's concentration camp of Ravensbrück. Most of the scenes were created in places where the presented events took place really. Grażyna Chrostowska was a Polish poet and an activist of the underground resistance movement during the Second World War. Arrested in 1941, she goes to the Lublin prison in the Castle, and then to the German concentration camp in Ravensbrück. She was only 19 years old. There, together with her fellow prisoners, she experiences the gehenna of the Nazi terror. At the same time, fleeing into the world of art and writing poems, she builds her own accelerated maturity. The film is a touching story about the natural need for human freedom, about the strength of youth and the love of beauty, which gives strength for further life in front of the tragedy of the war.

  • Magdalena Kołodziejczyk
    Director
    All for Poland-Zamosc uprising
  • Rafał Kołodziejczyk
    Director
    All for Poland - Zamosc uprising
  • Magdalena Kołodziejczyk
    Writer
  • Rafał Kołodziejczyk
    Writer
  • Maria Mazurek
    Producer
  • Wiktoria Dudek
    Key Cast
    "Grazyna Chrostowska"
  • Małgorzata Adamczyk
    Key Cast
    "Pola Chrostowska"
  • Krzysztof Szczepaniuk
    Key Cast
    "Michał - Ostoja Chrostowski"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Za kratą są zielone drzewa
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    47 minutes 44 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    12,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Poland
  • Country of Filming:
    Poland
  • Language:
    Polish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 6. Zamosc Film Festival "Meetings with History"
    Zamość
    Poland
    August 16, 2018
    III Prize
  • Docs without Borders
    Nassau, Delaware
    United States
    October 22, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Queen City Film Festival
    Cumberland
    United States
    Official Selection
  • X Festiwal Filmowy Niepokorni Niezłomni Wyklęci
    Gdynia
    Poland
    September 29, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Polish Film Festival Los Angeles
    Los Angeles
    United States
    October 18, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Spotlight Documentary Film Awards 2019
    Atlanta
    United States
    SILVER AWARD WINNER
  • XIII Festiwal Polonijny "Losy Polaków 2018
    Warszawa
    Poland
    I PRIZE
  • 9. Międzynarodowy Festiwal Filmów Historycznych i Wojskowych 2018
    Warszawa
    Poland
    Special Prize - Gold Saber
  • AltFF Alternative Film Festival 2019
    Toronto
    Canada
    SEMI-FINALIST BEST DOCUMENTARY
  • AltFF Alternative Film Festival 2019
    Toronto
    Canada
    SEMI-FINALIST BEST WRITER
  • NURT - Ogólnopolski Niezależny Festiwal Form Dokumentalnych 2018
    Kielce
    Poland
    OFFICIAL SELECTION
Distribution Information
  • Alter Ego
    Country: Poland
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Magdalena Kołodziejczyk, Rafał Kołodziejczyk

Magdalena Kołodziejczyk - Graduate in law at the Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin and journalism at the Faculty of Political Sciences . Since June 2005, an independent film producer in Poland - the owner of the Television Producer Agency Alter Ego. Cooperates with Polish Television S.A. A branch in Lublin as the author and manager of television production. In 2016, together with her husband Rafał, she made her debut as a scriptwriter and director of a documentary entitled "All for Poland - Zamosc Uprising 1942-1944". She is mainly interested in the historical document.

Rafał Kołodziejczyk - born in Lublin. Documentary director, history buff. Editor and creator of graphic design for many historical documentary films. Cooperates with Polish Television S.A. a branch in Lublin as the author of films and historical programs. Director and screenwriter of the film "All for Poland - Zamosc Uprising 1942-1944", awarded, among others at the Docs Without Borders Festival in the category of "Outstanding excellence" and at the polish festival "Losy Polaków (The fate od Poles)" 2017 (second prize in the category of "feature documentary film").

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When we started working on the film, we knew about the German concentration camp in Ravensbruck only that it was... During the preparation for this project, reading books, looking for sources, step by step we discovered an increasingly terrifying history of this place. In the movie "Behind bars are trees of green" we touched the story of Ravensbruck superficially - it was the last stop of our film heroine Grażyna war wandering - here she was executed. But the stories of Grażyna's camp friends are a very important testimony of what happened there during the war.

Grażyna Chrostowska was our compatriot. She was born and brought up in our hometown - Lublin, located in south-eastern Poland. We were deeply moved by the fate of this girl, a young, lovely, talented poet, whose war did not allow to enter adulthood in normal conditions. As we are not able to restore Grażyna's life, we would like her poetry to live. It is beautiful but it can be difficult - contains a lot of metaphors and literary references, but also - what is close to everyone - youthful love of beauty, longing for freedom and happiness. It is also an extraordinary proof of how the tragic circumstances force young people to mature and build their wisedom.

We are not judging or seeking revenge, but we have the right and we want to cultivate memory. With this in mind, we proceed to work on each of our films.

Magdalena and Rafał
Kołodziejczyk