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
A Cree Approach
Tristin Greyeyes embarks on a deeply personal journey to understand why Cree was not her first language, unraveling the story of her late grandmother, Freda Ahenakew. An intimate tribute and a call to action for the reclamation of language and identity.
King Arthur's Night
John Bolton's film of Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef's musical staging recreates Camelot at Harrison Hot Springs. It's a self-referential piece which joyfully reframes a classical narrative through the prisms of disability, inclusivity, and imagination.
Whispers in the Woods
A luxuriant, healing immersion in nature with ravishing wildlife photography, this is the cinematic equivalent of "forest bathing," a trip deep into the Vosges, France, with photographer Vincent Munier (The Velvet Queen), his father and his son.
Short Cuts
Altman's adaptation of Raymond Carver short stories, Short Cuts weaves between 8 or 9 overlapping storylines and 22 characters. it's a teeming, caustic and compassionate human comedy; a singularly astringent, often cynical view of America and Americana.
Three Colours: Blue
The first of Kieslowski's acclaimed Three Colours Trilogy, inspired by the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity and the French flag, the Tricolour. Blue stars Juliette Binoche as a young woman grieving her husband and child.
