Canadian Premiere
In December 2001, 19 year-old Murat Kurnaz is arrested while on a pilgrimage in Pakistan. His mother, Rabiye Kurnaz (Meltem Kaptan, Best Leading Performance at Berlinale)—a feisty housewife of Turkish descent living in Bremen, Germany—is desperate to track him down. In February 2002, she discovers that Murat is being detained indefinitely in Guantánamo Bay. Rabiye enlists the help of a human rights lawyer, Bernhard Docke (Alexander Scheer), to petition for his release.
For her voice to be heard, Rabiye must cut through red tape, international political tensions, and language barriers. With Bernhard as her ally and translator, she travels to Washington to appeal to the press, and eventually, the Supreme Court. While the odds against Murat may seem insurmountable, hope persists for Rabiye in the form of her quirky, budding friendship with Bernhard. Brimming with charm, tenderness, and unexpected levity, Andreas Dresen’s Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush weaves a true story of courage and determination to speak truth to power.
A fresh, real-life spin on David and Goliath.”—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter
Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance (Meltem Kaptan) & for Best Screenplay, Berlin 2022
Meltem Kaptan, Alexander Scheer, Charly Hübner, Nazmi Kirik, Sevda Polat
Germany/France
2022
In German, Turkish, and English with English subtitles
Graphic Violence
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Richest Woman in the World
Isabelle Huppert plays cosmetics CEO Marianne in this teasingly ambivalent satire inspired by the Bettancourt Affair, when L'Oreal heir Francoise Bettancourt scandalized France by frittering away her fortune on a notorious celebrity photographer.
The Python Hunt
Strange but true: the Florida Everglades are overrun with unwanted visitors. Not tourists, but invasive Burmese pythons decimating the local critters. The state's solution: an annual contest: $10 000 to whomever bags the most snakes in ten days.
Holy Days
After his mom passes, Brian (Elijah Tamati) is comforted by Sisters Agnes, Luke and Mary Clare (Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes and Jacki Weaver, respectively). The quirky quartet hit the road to save their convent from being sold to a property developer.
Mārama
Set in North Yorkshire, 1859, this creepy gothic horror plays like The Piano in reverse: a young Maori woman takes up a position as a governess to a wealthy whaler's child, but finds colonial skeletons in his closets.
Credits
Producer
Claudia Steffen, Christoph Friedel
Screenwriter
Laila Stieler
Cinematography
Andreas Höfer
Editor
Jörg Hauschild
Production Design
Susanne Hopf
Original Music
Johannes Repka, Cenk Erdoğan
Director
Andreas Dresen
Andreas Dresen has worked as a freelance author and director since 1992. Some of his award-winning films include Night Shapes (1999), which won the German Film Award in Silver; Grill Point (2002), which won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival; and Cloud 9 (2008), which was awarded the Coup de Coeur jury prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes Film Festival. Dresen is also a successful playwright and director. He is a member of the Academy of Arts and the European Film Academy and is a founding member of the German Film Academy.
Filmography: Stilles Land (1992); Night Shapes (1999); Grill Point (2002); Cloud 9 (2008)