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The Bieszczady Mountains straddle the easternmost border of the EU between Poland and Ukraine. It’s a wild place full of frigid peaks, fairy tale forests, raging rivers and stunning scenery. Brown bears, wild boars and packs of wolves all make their homes here – along with a large security presence due to it being a major route for smuggling drugs, guns and people. The Bieszczady Border Guard unit, nicknamed Wataha – Polish for “pack”, as in “wolf pack” – is led by Captain Wiktor Rebrow, a headstrong, seasoned vet who is as respected by his fellow guards as he is viewed suspiciously by his superiors. As the story begins, Rebrow and his pack apprehend/rescue a group of Ukrainian migrants as they attempt to traverse the mountains into Poland.
Soon after, the unit falls victim to a bomb attack on their Border Guard post. Rebrow is the sole survivor and immediately comes under suspicion when it is learned that he received a text message warning him of the attack. The DA’s office assigns ambitious prosecutor Iga Dobosz to lead the official inquiry – and she seems to have no doubt that Rebrow is indeed their man. The only person he can trust is his best friend Adam “Grzywa” Grzywaczewska, a former member of the Bieszczady BG who recently transferred to Warsaw for the birth of his first child. Soon Rebrow is hunted on all sides, and he must use all his survival and detective skills to track down those responsible and clear his name.
Filmed on location in Bieszczady over a four-month period, the Wataha production team enjoyed the full cooperation of the Polish Border Guard, ensuring a realistic and accurate depiction of law enforcement on Europe’s easternmost frontier. Produced by HBO Europe, the series enjoyed huge audiences at home and has also screened to critical acclaim in Australia and in the UK under the title ‘The Border’, where The Guardian called it “an unflinching look at xenophobia and misogyny in Poland and Ukraine… The drama doesn’t demonize or sanctify migrants, but focuses on the rivals fighting over them: the traders who see vulnerable humans as booty, and the unwilling host country for whom they are both a political problem and a propaganda opportunity.”
Wataha premieres January 16th only on MHz Choice.
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