To a Land Unknown
The mission of the Centre d'art et essai de la Cinémathèque québécoise (CAECQ) is to primary program Quebec-made documentaries and independent fiction, as well as international documentaries, animated and foreign films, while encouraging opportunities for meetings between the public and the artists. Its programming is presented in conjunction with the Cinémathèque québécoise’s under the label New releases.
Directors' Fortnight, 2024 Cannes Film Festival
Palestinian cousins Chatila and Reda are refugees in Athens. They engage in various schemes to raise money for fake passports, their gateway to Germany where they want to build a new life. But their quest pushes them beyond their limits, leaving behind a part of themselves in hope for a better future.
Mahdi Fleifel
Mahdi Fleifel is a Danish-Palestinian film director. Often examining themes of social injustice, Fleifel's films largely convey the struggles of Palestinians in exile. He was raised in the refugee camp Ein el-Helweh in Lebanon and later in a suburb of Helsingør in Denmark. In 2009, he graduated from the National Film and Television School in London. In 2010, he set up the London-based production company Nakba FilmWorks. His debut feature documentary A World Not Ours (2012) picked up several awards. His short film A Man Returned (2016) won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, and his film A Drowning Man (2017) was in the Official Selection of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. To a Land Unknown (2024) is his first feature film.
Photo: Ulysse del Drago
