Mahdi Fleifel is a Palestinian-Danish director who graduated from NFTS in the UK. He was notably mentored by Stephen Frears and Pawel Pawlikowski. In 2012, his first feature-length documentary A World Not Ours premiered at TIFF and gathered around thirty awards (Berlinale, CPH:DOX, Yamagata, DOC:NYC). He took part in the Cinéfondation in 2013, and subsequently directed several short films: A Man Returned (Silver Bear 2016 EFA nomination), A Drowning Man (Cannes, Bafta nominated), I Signed The Petition (IDFA award and EFA nomination). Filmography 2012 - A World Not Ours (feature documentary) 2013 - Xenos (short) 2015 - 20 Handshakes for Peace (short) 2016 - A Man Returned (short) 2017 - A Drowning Man (short) 2018 - I Signed The Petition (short) 2020 - 3 Logical Exits (short) 2023 - Elefsina Notre Amour (short) 2024 - To a Land Unknown (narrative feature)
Chatila and Reda are saving to pay for fake passports to get out of Athens. But when Reda loses their hard-earned cash to his dangerous drug addiction, Chatila hatches an extreme plan, which involves them posing as smugglers and taking hostages in an effort to get him and his best friend out of their hopeless environment before it is too late.
Mahmood Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Angeliki Papoulia, Mohammad Alsurafa, Monzer Reyahnah, Mouataz Alshaltouh, Mohammad Ghassan
DoP Thodoris Mihopoulos Editor Halim Sabbagh Music Nadah El Shazly Sound Design Martin Hernandez, Steve Bond
Geoff Arbourne
Mahdi Fleifel, Fyzal Boulifa, Jason McColgan