To a Land Unknown

Danish-Palestinian director Mahdi Fleifel’s feature debut combines a buddy drama and tense thriller to powerful and topical effect.

Displaced Palestinian refugee Chatila is drifting in and out of petty crime with his cousin Reda, trying to save enough money for fake passports to assure their safe passage from Athens to Germany. When Reda loses their hard-earned cash to his drug-addiction, Chatila hatches an extreme plan to pose as smugglers in an attempt to get them out of their desperate situation before it’s too late.

This topical, knife-edge drama - driven by powerful central performances from Mahmood Bakri and Aram Sabbah - tackles difficult subjects such as cultural displacement and exploitation in a humane and empathetic manner.