“In the Rearview”, about filmmaker Maciek Hamela’s efforts to rescue civilians stranded by war, is a gripping testimony to the plight of the millions of Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s invasion. As the award-winning documentary opens in French cinemas on Wednesday, its Polish director hopes it will remind viewers of what is at stake in Ukraine – and of the suffering of refugees from all conflicts.
When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a mass exodus of refugees, Warsaw-based filmmaker Maciek Hamela joined thousands of fellow Poles in rushing to the border to offer what help he could. Within days, he was driving a van across the breadth of Ukraine, collecting civilians stranded by the conflict and driving them to safety.
