To a Land Unknown

Mahdi Fleifel – UK, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, 2024 – 105 minutes – spoken language: Arabic, with English subtitles

Palestinian-Danish director Mahdi Fleifel, known for his compelling documentaries that give voice and agency to Palestinian refugees, makes his narrative feature debut with an unflinching and emotionally shattering portrayal of two Palestinian cousins trapped in Athens. Locked in a relentless struggle for survival, their emotional journey is anchored by heartfelt performances. Fleifel balances the raw intensity of the story with a tender touch.

Prior to the main movie we will show the short film This Is Not Your Garden by Carlos Velandia (13 minutes): An exploration of Colombia’s evolving ecosystems through hypnotic animation, blending past and future, as human activity strains their resilience.

About Sprouts Film Festival:
“In times of a glitching world, with weather extremes and inhumane conflicts intensifying, it can be tempting to avert your gaze. Instead, Sprouts wants to make the cinema a site for peaceful protest by showing newly released ecocinema and socially critical debut films. All selected features and shorts are fiction, because it is our belief that through the power of imagination we can alter our behaviour for the better and rethink our relationship with the more-than-human world. We are here to make you wonder, to inform, to spark resistance and to nurture fresh talent.”