The film was developed in December 2021 as a part of a trilogy of Ameer Fakher Eldin's first 2021 film, 'The Stranger' with working title as 'Nothing of Nothing Remains'.
Ameer Fakher Eldin’s latest film, Yunan, is set to screen twice at the 34th African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival (FESCAAL) in Milan, Italy, where it will compete in the Official Competition. One of the screenings will be followed by a Q&A session with the director.
The festival runs from March 21 to 30, with Yunan scheduled for its first screening and Q&A at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, March 25, at Cineteca Milano Arlecchino. A second screening will follow on Wednesday, March 26, at 1 PM at the same venue.
Yunan is the second film in Fakher Eldin’s trilogy, HOME, which explores themes of estrangement. The film follows a disillusioned Arab writer who leaves his exiled life in Hamburg and travels to a remote North Sea island with thoughts of ending his life. There, he encounters an elderly woman whose quiet kindness rekindles his desire to live.
Directed, written and edited by Ameer Fakher Eldin, the film is a Canadian-German-Italian co-production, with contributions from Palestine, Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The cast includes Lebanese actor and filmmaker George Khabbaz, German actress Hanna Schygulla, Palestinian actor Ali Suleiman and Game of Thrones stars Sibel Kekilli and Thomas Wlaschiha, alongside Lebanese theatre veteran Nidal El Ashkar.
The film features a score by MAD Crew composer Suad Bushnaq, cinematography by Ronald Plante, production design by Marie-Luise Balzer and sound design by Kuen-Il Song. It is produced by Dorothe Beinemeier, Catherine Chagnon, Marco Valerio Fusco and Micaela Fusco, with additional collaboration from Alaa Alasad and Hind Anabtawi. Executive producers include Paola Corvino and MAD Solutions’ Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab.
Backed by Red Balloon Film, Microclimat Films, Intramovies, Metafora Production, Tabi360 and Fresco Films, Yunan is distributed in the Arab world by MAD Distribution. The film received support from the Red Sea Fund, the Red Sea Souk, the Jordanian Royal Film Commission, MOIN Film Fund, Eurimages, Telefilm Canada and SODEC.
Ameer Fakher Eldin, a Syrian filmmaker based in Hamburg, was born in Kyiv in 1991 to Syrian parents from the occupied Golan Heights. His debut film, The Stranger, premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, winning the Edipo Re Award.
Fakher Eldin is currently developing the final instalment of his trilogy, Nostalgia: A Tale in Its First Chapters, a joint production between Syria, Palestine, Germany and Italy, which has received support from the Red Sea Fund.
