The Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival always offers an enticing opportunity to explore films beyond the main thoroughfare of the Croisette and the fierce competition. It's a time to seek out boundary-pushing works that offer a unique perspective on cinema. This year, Mahdi Fleifel's world premiere, "To a Land Unknown," stands out as the lone Palestinian feature film to be showcased at the festival, and IndieWire is proud to exclusively share the trailer below.
The film follows Chatila (Mahmood Bakri) and Reda (Aram Sabbah), cousins and refugees stranded in Athens, desperately searching for a path to Germany. Desperate to flee Greece, they devise a risky plan to pose as smugglers taking hostages, unaware of the devastating consequences it will have on their already fragile friendship.
"In these uncertain and challenging times, it's deeply moving for me to present a Palestinian film at Cannes," Fleifel, who was born to Palestinian parents in Dubai but raised in Denmark, said while announcing the movie. "As Palestinians, we strive to break media stereotypes, but more importantly, we refuse to be invisible. This struggle has been a constant in our lives since the beginning. Our stories are needed now more than ever, and I'm honored to share 'To a Land Unknown' with the world."
