TO A LAND UNKNOWN
SYNOPSIS
Chatila and Reda are saving to pay for fake passports to get out of Athens. But when Reda loses their hard-earned cash to his dangerous drug addiction, Chatila hatches an extreme plan, which involves them posing as smugglers and taking hostages in an effort to get him and his best friend out of their hopeless environment before it is too late.
Festival Publicity - Cannes Film Festival
World Premiere
UK, Palestine, France, Greece, The Netherlands, Germany, Qatar, Saudia Arabia - Drama - 105 mins - 2024
Directed by Mahdi Fleifel - Produced by Nabka Filmworks, Inside Out Films In Coproduction with Salaud Morisset, Homemade Films, Studio Ruba, ERT, Metafora Production, The Red Sea Fund International Sales: Salaud Morisset
Official Selections: Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival 2024
IN THE PRESS…
“This is a confident angry, fully-realized drama which should see its makers afforded further opportunities to craft similar work…To a Land Unknown” is a film crafted with tremendous empathy…”
— Variety
“Arrestingly plotted and bracingly acted, this story about the biting hardships faced by refugees who have left the danger of their homeland only to be left nationless could hardly be more relevant…”
“A social realist drama buoyed by two gorgeous central performances, a nuanced portrait of a mercurial male relationship told with assurance and steel…”
“Fleifel brings a steady hand to this material, never trying to overstep the limits of these two men’s daily experience to grandstand or wave a flag…”
— Deadline
“Fleifel channels [that] vibrant urban energy throughout much of the film… A sober and sincere refugee story.”
“A heartbreaking tribute to exiled people…Mahdi Fleifel’s masterful feature debut marks a new chapter in Palestinian cinema.”