When three-time Academy Award nominated director Agnieszka Holland first directed an episode of House of Cards three years ago, she was concerned that the cynical, murderous, portrayal of Washington politicians would have a dangerous effect on public perception.

But then, the Polish film-maker told the Times of Malta, something happened: a “disappointment in democratic rules” and public involvement in the process, then the rise of populism and post-truth politics, a crisis Ms Holland believes has been in the offing for at least a decade.

And when she returned to House of Cards last year, in the midst of the Donald Trump’s election campaign, the risk was more that the show would be left behind.

“We were stunned by the resemblance between what was written and what was going on in reality.

If there is no credible external enemy, create internal enemies

“The reality advanced the fiction, and it became difficult to compete. Five years ago the series was a fictional dystopia, a pop-Shakespearean game. Now it’s some kind of a reality show. I’m not proud of that,” she said.

Ms Holland was in Malta this week for the Valletta Film Festival, where her latest film Pokot (Spoor) – an “anarchistic, feministic eco-thriller with elements of black comedy” – is currently competing.

The film, about an elderly woman in a rural community caught up in a serious of mysterious murders, continues the director’s longstanding engagement with politics – two of her three Oscar nominations have come for films set during her Holocaust – but Ms Holland was herself surprised by its resonance.

“I didn’t see it as overtly political when we were making it but it became more so because of the changing context in Poland and the USA,” she said.

“So suddenly those two issues – women’s rights and visibility and the question of nature – became the target of attacks by authoritarian governments. It’s about the confrontation of brutal male power and the rights of the softer and weaker.

“It’s not a coincidence that paternalistic, authoritarian movements advocate against both issues. It’s all about control: the power of what can be called the white male over the planet and over women.”

In her native Poland, Spoor has proved controversial, with some journalists describing it as anti-Christian, or promoting eco-terrorism.

Ms Holland said she was content with having as many opponents as supporters, but believes the criticism points to a worrying trend in her country – paralleling the rise of populist movements elsewhere around the world.

“The government has been encouraging incredibly artificial divisions in society,” she said.

“The hate from both sides, which was grown artificially, is now so great that people are unable to meet or talk together, even among families. It’s a case, which is becoming increasingly common, of two countries in one – a cold domestic war which I hope will not break out into a real domestic war, but which has that potential.”

Her fear, informed by history, is the unleashing of dangerous forces in the interest of personal agendas.

“If a movement wants to keep power forever, the best way is to create an enemy and the fear that the enemy can take from you something which is yours,” she said.

“And if there is no credible external enemy, you have to create internal enemies. We have seen before how decent societies can be made dangerous. If I were a Prime Minister I wouldn’t play with this fire.”

Against these forces, the role of film – and art more broadly – may be limited: but although it may not change the world, she believes, a film can, “given the right moment”, slightly change people’s vision of it.

The turbulent times, Ms Holland said, also pointed to the need for complex stories which reflect a fragmented world and people’s “shattered” identities.

“We are living through huge changes, similar in scale and importance and potential dangerous consequences for the human condition, and we don’t have the tools to talk about it,” she said.

“The stories we tell, even in a pop version, are all showing things which are very important for society.

“House of Cards anticipated what we are living in America now.”