In this evocative mood piece, Munir (Georges Khabbaz) is a middle-aged Syrian writer in exile in Germany. Going through an existential crisis, he takes himself up to one of the Halligan islands in the North Sea, a sparsely populated place of severe beauty, prone to frequent flooding. Although they initially rub each other the wrong way, a widow, Valeska (Hanna Schygulla) offers him a room and kindness. It’s just about enough to keep him from giving in to despair.
Writer-director Ameer Fakher Eldin (born in Kiev to exiled Syrian-Palestinian parents) has hit on a remarkable setting for his bleak meditation on displacement and depression; this is a film which seems almost torn from its windswept landscape. Granted, not much happens and still less is said, yet a man’s life hangs in the balance, and we are compelled to stay by his side.
[A] haunting meditation on exile… It’s elegantly crafted and has a poetic intensity that builds in rewarding ways.
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
Ameer Fakher Eldin
Georges Khabbaz, Hanna Schygulla, Ali Suliman, Sibel Kekilli, Tom Wlaschiha, Nidal Al Achkar
Germany/Canada
2025
In German and Arabic with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Screenwriter
Ameer Fakher Eldin
Cinematography
Ronald Plante
Original Music
Suad Bushnaq
Also Playing
All That's Left of You
Jordan's submission for the Academy Awards, All That's Left of You makes the most of its epic format to chronicle seven decades of Palestinian history while tracking the psychological impact of cycles of exile and oppression on three generations.
Laura Crema Sings Lorenz Hart
For this unique show, leading jazz vocalist Laura Crema has put together a set of some of Lorenz Hart's most memorable songs. Afterwards, enjoy Ethan Hawke's portrait of the legendary lyricist in Richard Linklater's new movie, Blue Moon.
Islands
In this sly, engrossing mystery, a dissolute English tennis coach in a Canary Islands holiday resort falls under suspicion when the husband of a beautiful guest disappears after a night of heavy drinking...
One Battle After Another
PT Anderson's breathless satire is the best political action movie of 2025, a defiantly anti-MAGA rallying cry featuring a six pack of crackerjack performances. They'll still be talking about this one 50 years from now.