This film is currently unavailable
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_480x270/public/hero-images/Ashkal_1920-3-blackbarscropped.jpg?itok=GpJQD1qc)
Ashkal
The investigation into a series of unexplained deaths hints to the supernatural, in this thrillingly unconventional police procedural.
Director: Youssef Chebbi
Overview
In the eerie desolation of the half-built Gardens of Carthage, a major development whose construction was halted in the early days of the Tunisian Revolution, the burned body of a caretaker is found amongst the skeletal remains of forgotten buildings. The local police conclude death by self-immolation, but the discovery of a second victim a few days later leads detectives Batal and Fatma to suspect foul play. As the mysteries mount, the two investigators edge their way closer to a terrifying truth.
Skilfully exploiting the uncanny quiet of this architectural ghost town (breathtakingly shot by Hazem Berrabah), director Youssef Chebbi’s enigmatic fusion of melancholy neo-noir and the fantastical (think True Detective by way of The X-Files) is a politically tinged enigma, trading in bold provocations, rather than easy answers.
Related
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Bottle-Rocket-01.jpg?itok=3v6BuE4i)
Bottle Rocket Bottle Rocket
Comedy 1995 91 mins Director: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson's rarely screened debut ditches the kitsch in favour of surprisingly subtle comedy, in this tale of a criminally inept gang led by Owen Wilson.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Morgiana-01.jpg?itok=NwFN0AiD)
Morgiana Morgiana
Crime 1972 97 mins Director: Juraj Herz
Delirious gothic tale of terror from Czech New Wave master Juraj Herz, about a jealous sister with dark desires and splintered minds.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/20160116-bande-a-parte-qa-with-anna-karina-1920x1080.jpg?itok=6aBh6Efb)
Bande à part Bande à part
Crime 1964 95 mins Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Godard's playful tribute to the Hollywood pulp crime movies of the 1940s, executed with typically Gallic cool.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/easterncondors_grabs_1.jpg?itok=y-r6YUHW)
Eastern Condors Eastern Condors
Crime 1987 98 mins Director: Sammo Hung Kam-bo
Sammo Hung directs and stars in this high-kicking tribute to The Dirty Dozen, which sees ten convicts offered amnesty if the undertake a deadly mission behind enemy lines in Vietnam to destroy a top-secret munitions dump
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Mapantsula-4.jpg?itok=8YiTfkBp)
Mapantsula Mapantsula
Crime 1989 104 mins Director: Oliver Schmitz
Panic, a petty gangster, is caught up in Township riots in this cult classic crime drama, the first anti-Apartheid film shot guerilla style on the streets of Soweto.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/wages-1920.jpg?itok=1-LW7Dg2)
The Wages of Fear The Wages of Fear
Crime 1953 153 mins Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Henri-Georges Clouzot's classic, nail-biting suspense thriller won both The Golden Bear and the Palme d'Or in 1953.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo260115284.jpg?itok=rxFSn7Fk)
Together Together
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1956 48 mins Director: Lorenza Mazzetti
Two deaf-mute dock workers eke out a humble East End existence in Lorenza Mazzetti's striking and poetic example of Free Cinema.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Tigers_2-1920.jpg?itok=dILhgNrs)
Tigers Tigers
Biopic 2021 116 mins Director: Ronnie Sandahl
A teenage football prodigy spirals out of control when he is bought by one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. Sweden’s submission for the 2022 Academy Awards, based on a true story.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/In_From_the_Side_1-1920.jpg?itok=iKSKjt0k)
In from the Side In from the Side
Drama 2021 135 mins Director: Matt Carter
The lives of a London gay rugby team, both on and off the pitch, are explored in this assured feature which reveals the many different games that people play.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Jeanne_Dielman_2-1920-brighter.jpg?itok=Dis0Obuz)
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
Drama 1975 202 mins Director: Chantal Akerman
Chantal Akerman's magnificent epic of experimental cinema offering a feminist perspective on recurrent events of everyday life.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/rodeo.jpg?itok=guK5j05w)
Rodeo Rodeo
Drama 2022 106 mins Director: Lola Quivoron
French debut director Lola Quivoron revs up with a ferocious tale of a woman kickstarting a new life in the world of guerrilla motocross racing.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/varietymcleodsunglasses.jpg?itok=QdZK_Gef)
Variety Variety
Drama 1984 101 mins Director: Bette Gordon
Bette Gordon’s groundbreaking, gloriously subversive neo-noir thriller is one of the very best American underground films.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/After-Love-headroom.jpg?itok=mdXkugIU)
After Love After Love
Drama 2021 90 mins Director: Aleem Khan
In this knockout feature debut from Aleem Khan, Bafta-winner Joanna Scanlan is the woman who discovers her late husband’s secrets.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Damsels-in-Distress_04.jpg?itok=itoCZrvO)
Damsels in Distress Damsels in Distress
Comedy 2011 99 mins Director: Whit Stillman
Greta Gerwig shines as a college student challenging the male dominated culture on campus, in Whit Stillman’s sweet, eccentric and frequently hilarious comedy.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Sex-lies-and-videotape_05.jpg?itok=7oRHapOi)
sex, lies, and videotape sex, lies, and videotape
Drama 1989 100 mins Director: Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderberg’s audacious debut, starring James Spader and Andie Macdowell, is an intimate exploration of sexual desire, and a landmark of 90’s American independent filmmaking.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Bottle-Rocket-01.jpg?itok=3v6BuE4i)
Bottle Rocket Bottle Rocket
Comedy 1995 91 mins Director: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson's rarely screened debut ditches the kitsch in favour of surprisingly subtle comedy, in this tale of a criminally inept gang led by Owen Wilson.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/ama-gloria-01.jpg?itok=SeT-WRGY)
Àma Gloria Àma Gloria
Drama 2023 84 mins Director: Marie Amachoukeli
Six-year-old Cléo spends a final summer with her beloved nanny Gloria, in this profoundly moving story of chosen family, duty and innocence lost.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Morgiana-01.jpg?itok=NwFN0AiD)
Morgiana Morgiana
Crime 1972 97 mins Director: Juraj Herz
Delirious gothic tale of terror from Czech New Wave master Juraj Herz, about a jealous sister with dark desires and splintered minds.