To A Land Unknown

In Athens, two Palestinian cousins -- Chatila and Reda -- risk everything to reach Germany -- but as desperation mounts, survival may come at the cost of loyalty.

Director:
Mahdi Fleifel

Genre:
Drama

Year:
2024

Duration:
105 minutes

Rating:
18+

Country:
UK, Palestine, France, Greece, Netherlands, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia

Language:
Arabic, Greek, English

Subtitling:
English, Arabic

Screenplay: Mahdi Fleifel, Fyzal Boulifa, Jason McColgan

Cast: Mahmood Bakri, Aram Sabbagh, Angeliki Papoulia, Mohammad Alsurafa, Mouataz Alshalto, Mohammad Ghassan, Monzer Reyahnah

Cinematography: Thodoris Mihopoulos (GSC)

Editing: Halim Sabbagh

Production: Geoff Arbourne, Mahdi Fleifel

Awards: Tanit D'Argent -- Carthage Film Festival - Carthage, Tunisia -- 2024 | Silver Yusr Best Feature Film -- Red Sea International Film Festival -- Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia -- 2024 | Silver Yusr Best Actor: Mahmoud Bakri - Red Sea International Film Festival -- Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia -- 2024

Début Status: Jordanian Première

Film Eligibility: Mehdi Fleifel is a first-time screenwriter

Synopsis

In the shadows of Athens, two Palestinian cousins, Chatila and Reda, dream of escaping to Germany and building a new life. But as mounting pressures close in -- from poverty, addiction, and a system rigged against them -- their bond is tested in unexpected and dangerous ways. What begins as an escape plan quickly spirals into a tense confrontation with loyalty, survival, and the cost of freedom in a world that offers them no easy way out.

Director’s biography

Mahdi Fleifel is a Palestinian-Danish director who graduated from NFTS in the UK. He was notably mentored by Stephen Frears and Pawel Pawlikowski. In 2012, his first feature-length documentary A World Not Ours premiered at TIFF and gathered around thirty awards (Berlinale, CPH:DOX, Yamagata, DOC:NYC). He took part in the Cinéfondation in 2013, and subsequently directed several short films: A Man Returned (Silver Bear 2016 EFA nomination), A Drowning Man (Cannes, Bafta nominated), I Signed The Petition (IDFA award and EFA nomination).