DIRECTOR: ASIMINA PROEDROU
STARRING: STATHIS STAMOULAKATOS, ELENI OUZOUNIDOU, EVGENIA LAVDA
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 58 MINUTES
A tragic incident on Greece's northern border strikes a local family of three, pushing them to face their own personal impasses, while having to deeply consider the price for their actions.
STARRING: STATHIS STAMOULAKATOS, ELENI OUZOUNIDOU, EVGENIA LAVDA
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 58 MINUTES
A tragic incident on Greece's northern border strikes a local family of three, pushing them to face their own personal impasses, while having to deeply consider the price for their actions.
FILM REVIEW:
(This review contains spoilers.)
“If only I knew which scumbag does this job.”
Behind the Haystacks is the International Feature submission for Greece. Around December 2015, Germany closed its borders to the refugees. Shortly after, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and other countries followed. This left around 17,000 refugees, mostly Syrians, trapped for weeks in a makeshift camp between Greece and North Macedonia by the Doiran Lake. This film focuses on a family of three who were swept under the tragic circumstances during this time. The father, Stergios is a co-op farm worker and fisherman. His wife Maria works as a volunteer for the local church and their daughter Anastasia is training to be a nurse at the local hospital.
When Stergios receives a letter stating that he owes thousands to the tax department for creating fake invoices, his entire world crumbles. He has to return the money back before the trial date in order to receive a minimal jail sentence. Desperate, Stergios begins to traffic refugees across the lake into North Macedonia. Tragedy strikes when a mother and son drown in the lake, with Stergios responsible for the deaths.
Divided into three sections, dedicating each segment to every member of the family, Behind the Haystacks examines the repercussions of a single, tragic event and the ripple effects that it has across an entire community. This family, and many other families, got entangled in a disastrous human-smuggling ring. The film displays how easy it is for people to turn into the criminal world and for them to consider the costs of their actions for the first time. It further showcases how everyday people, mostly good people, became trapped in corrupt systems and societies. This is their response towards hypocrisy and morality.
Behind the Haystacks explores Greece’s growing humanitarian crisis and the strains that it was causing to rural communities made up of local farmers and fisherman, who were already facing pressure from larger economic strains. The refugees during this time were struggling to stay alive during one of the biggest refugees crises in the twenty-first century. And to this day, most refugees trapped in Greece and who are living in urban settings are unable to find work to support their families as the country continues to struggle economically in the aftermath of the 2015 financial crisis.
As families stepped foot into the underworld, the number of dead left behind in the haystacks is a reminder for the need for intervention and support for the millions of people trapped in places fleeing a life left behind.
REVIEW: B+
(This review contains spoilers.)
“If only I knew which scumbag does this job.”
Behind the Haystacks is the International Feature submission for Greece. Around December 2015, Germany closed its borders to the refugees. Shortly after, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and other countries followed. This left around 17,000 refugees, mostly Syrians, trapped for weeks in a makeshift camp between Greece and North Macedonia by the Doiran Lake. This film focuses on a family of three who were swept under the tragic circumstances during this time. The father, Stergios is a co-op farm worker and fisherman. His wife Maria works as a volunteer for the local church and their daughter Anastasia is training to be a nurse at the local hospital.
When Stergios receives a letter stating that he owes thousands to the tax department for creating fake invoices, his entire world crumbles. He has to return the money back before the trial date in order to receive a minimal jail sentence. Desperate, Stergios begins to traffic refugees across the lake into North Macedonia. Tragedy strikes when a mother and son drown in the lake, with Stergios responsible for the deaths.
Divided into three sections, dedicating each segment to every member of the family, Behind the Haystacks examines the repercussions of a single, tragic event and the ripple effects that it has across an entire community. This family, and many other families, got entangled in a disastrous human-smuggling ring. The film displays how easy it is for people to turn into the criminal world and for them to consider the costs of their actions for the first time. It further showcases how everyday people, mostly good people, became trapped in corrupt systems and societies. This is their response towards hypocrisy and morality.
Behind the Haystacks explores Greece’s growing humanitarian crisis and the strains that it was causing to rural communities made up of local farmers and fisherman, who were already facing pressure from larger economic strains. The refugees during this time were struggling to stay alive during one of the biggest refugees crises in the twenty-first century. And to this day, most refugees trapped in Greece and who are living in urban settings are unable to find work to support their families as the country continues to struggle economically in the aftermath of the 2015 financial crisis.
As families stepped foot into the underworld, the number of dead left behind in the haystacks is a reminder for the need for intervention and support for the millions of people trapped in places fleeing a life left behind.
REVIEW: B+
