YUNAN

Haunted by a cryptic story his ailing mother repeats in her struggle with Alzheimer’s, Munir (Georges Khabbaz) travels to a remote North Sea island to end his life. There, on the windswept island where nature is both threat and refuge, he encounters the enigmatic Valeska (Hanna Schygulla) and her conservative son Karl (Tom Wlaschiha). Few words are spoken, yet small gestures of kindness slowly break through suspicion, until the island itself, with the overwhelming majesty of nature, conspires to transform the path of his destiny.

AWARDS & NOMINATIONS

• Best Cinematography – Bari FF, Concorso Meridiana

• Special Mention from the University Award Jury - FESCAAAL (Milan)

• Best Actor for Georges Khabbaz and Best Actress for Hanna Shygullah – Hong Kong International Film Festival

• Best Actor for Georges Khabbaz – Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival

• Best Film at the Arab Critics Award for European Films – El Gouna Film Festival

• Best Actor for Georges Khabbaz and Best Director for Ameer Fakher Eldin – Red Sea International Film Festival

Born in 1991 in Kyiv, Ukraine, to Syrian parents from the occupied Golan Heights, Ameer Fakher Eldin is a writer and director whose work has earned international acclaim. His debut feature “The Stranger” premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Edipo Re Award, and was later selected as Palestine’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.

The film continued its success at the 43rd Cairo International Film Festival, winning the Best Arab Film Award and the Shadi Abd El Salam Prize for Best Film in the International Critics’ Week Competition. It also received recognition at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, with a nomination for Best Director and a win for Best Cinematography. In 2025, his second feature “Yunan” premiered in the main competition of the Berlin International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Bear.