To a Land Unknown

“Chatila” (Mahmoud Bakri) and his cousin “Reda” (Aram Sabbah) are Palestinian refugees grifting in Athens trying to raise the cash to pay for some fake passports that will get them into Germany, where they hope to set up a family-run café. They engage in some petty larceny and the latter man turns a few tricks in the local park. With their goal in sight, though, “Reda” uses some of their stash to buy drugs from the untrustworthy “Abu Love” (Mouataz Alshaltouh) which causes friction between the pair but also inspires “Chatila” to concoct quite a cunning plan. They’ve befriended the young…

For those seeking sanctuary and the prospects of a better life, the hope of reaching a promised land holds an abiding attraction. That’s particularly true for those who are desperate to change their fates, and perhaps no one understands this better than refugees seeking to flee their circumstances. Unfortunately, that promise is often just that – a promise – and one that’s frequently and perpetually out of reach. Such are the conditions addressed in writer-director Mahdi Fleifel’s narrative feature debut, the story of Palestinian cousins Chatila (Mahmoud Bakri) and Reda (Aram Sabbah), who,…