North American Premiere
Hamad (Adam Bessa) arrives in Strasbourg on the hunt for a fellow Syrian exile, his “cousin,” Sami. Could he be the notorious prison interrogator who tortured countless adversaries of the Assad regime? The refugee community receives his inquiries with suspicion. The war may be over, but that only makes it harder to recognize your enemy. And the scarred, terse, brooding Hamad doesn’t seem like he’s bringing gifts from home. Then again, who can vouch for Sami?
Jonathan Millet’s crisp, menacing thriller keeps us guessing as Hamad circles his target, convinced in his bones but unable to definitively prove that he’s found his man. As to what he means to do with him, that too can be inferred — there’s a secret support network lurking in the shadows — but it’s not even clear that Hamad has settled on the end game.
Critics have been quick to draw parallels with Spielberg’s Munich. Millet’s movie is leaner and tighter, largely playing out across close-ups of Bessa’s pensive, pained face — until we finally sit down and get to know Tawfeek Barhom’s “Sami” in a couple of chilling late scenes.
Adam Bessa, Tawfeek Barhom, Julia Franz Richter, Hala Rajab, Shafiqa El Till, Sylvain Samson
France/Germany/Belgium
2024
In French, Arabic and English with English subtitles
At International Village
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Pauline Seigland
Screenwriter
Jonathan Millet, Florence Rochat
Cinematography
Olivier Boonjing
Editor
Laurent Sénéchal
Original Music
Yuksek
Jonathan Millet
After studying philosophy, Jonathan Millet filmed in over fifty countries for image databases, capturing remote regions and learning to convey atmosphere through his lens. His debut feature-length documentary, Ceuta, Douce Prison (2013), was shown at over 60 international festivals, followed by Tell Me About the Stars (2017) and La Disparition (2021). He directed several acclaimed short films, including Et Toujours Nous Marcherons, which was nominated for a César Award in 2018. Ghost Trail is his first fiction feature film.
Filmography: Ceuta, Douce Prison (2013); Tell Me About the Stars (2017); The Wake (2017); La Disparition (2021)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Ceremony
Powerful and evocative, Ceremony follows the disappearance of the ooligan in Bella Coola, revealing a story of cultural survival, environmental stewardship, and the enduring relationship between the Nuxalk Nation and the land.
Our Mr. Matsura
Part of the first wave of Japanese immigrants to the United States, Frank Matsura's photographs in Okanogan County created a regional legacy that endures a century later. Our Mr. Matsura is a joyful celebration of life revealed through photography.
Clubfoot
An adopted teen and his friend coerce a younger adoptee to go for a drive out to the countryside — but things turn violent. With a fragmented structure and unresolved questions, Clubfoot reflects the uncertainty and isolation that often follow adoption.
School for Defectors
School for Defectors is an intimate and quietly uplifting documentary that follows a group of 20 teenagers, children of North Korean defectors, as they adjust to life and education at Jangdaehyun School in Busan, South Korea.
RADIOHEART: The Drive and Times of DJ Kevin Cole
Featuring a scintillating soundtrack of tunes going back to the ‘70s, RADIOHEART is a heartwarming celebration of one of the greatest radio DJs, Kevin Cole, whose musical tastes and influence are still reverberating across the world’s soundwaves.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney
Using era-appropriate visuals, ironically deployed music, and copious archival footage, Matthew Rankin tells the story of Brian Mulroney’s rise to power. This is Canadian history as you’ve never seen it before — amusing and dismaying in equal measure.