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Zawya Cinema to release Palestinian film ‘To A Land Unknown' on July 16
Writer-director Mahdi Fleifel's second feature follows two immigrants in Athens as they struggle by any means necessary to escape their circumstances.
Zawya Cinema has announced the upcoming release of To A Land Unknown, a Palestinian film by director Mahdi Fleifel, on July 16 as part of the eighth edition of Cairo Cinema Days. The screening marks the film's arrival in Egypt after a wide theatrical rollout across the Arab world, including in Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, the UAE, Palestine and Jordan.
The 2024 drama made its world premiere at the 77th Cannes International Film Festival, where it was featured in the Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) section. Since then, the film has travelled an extensive international festival circuit, screening at over 100 events and collecting more than 20 awards, with over 40 theatrical releases globally.
To A Land Unknown is directed and co-written by Mahdi Fleifel, alongside writers Fyzal Boulifa and Jason McColgan. The film stars Mahmood Bakri and Aram Sabbah as Chatila and Reda, two Palestinian refugees stranded in Athens after fleeing a refugee camp in Lebanon. Desperate to reach Germany, they struggle to survive on the fringes of society, scraping together money to purchase fake passports. But their fragile plan begins to unravel when Reda, burdened by guilt and disillusionment, squanders their savings on heroin. Left with nothing, Chatila becomes entangled in a dangerous smuggling scheme as they try to escape their dead-end existence.
Blending documentary realism with dramatic storytelling, Fleifel's film delivers an emotionally charged portrait of refugee life in Europe, marked by vulnerability, resistance and the desperate pursuit of hope. The arrival of Malek, a young boy whose aunt promises to send money to bring him to Italy, provides a brief glimmer of optimism for the two men, but their future remains uncertain.
The film is a European co-production involving several companies and institutions, including Inside Out Films (UK), Nakba Filmworks, Salaud Morisset (France and Germany), Homemade Films (Greece) and Studio Ruba (Netherlands). Additional support came from ERT, Metafora Production and the Red Sea Production Fund in Saudi Arabia. Distribution across the Arab region is handled by Film Clinic Indie Distribution.
With To A Land Unknown, Mahdi Fleifel delivers a raw, humane, and timely story about exile, brotherhood and survival, firmly establishing the film as a standout in contemporary Arab and European cinema.
