MINKAFF
Fall Grants 2024 - Production Stage
SM Al Thani / Feature Narrative / Qatar / 120 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Drama, Thriller
Synopsis
“In the Iraqi desert, a group of Qatari men, including Fahad, are nearing the end of a falcon hunting trip. Fahad feels uneasy after spotting a blinking light in the distance, but the group dismisses his concerns. That night, they are ambushed by armed men, blindfolded, and taken hostage, enduring violent interrogation. The scene shifts to New York, where Jassim, a young Qatari, is grieving the recent death of his grandfather. Returning to Qatar for the funeral, Jassim learns that his friend Fahad is among the kidnapped group. During his investigation, Jassim discovers that Fahad’s final call before the kidnapping was to his grandfather, made just before his passing.
Through flashbacks to 1999, we learn about the childhood bond between a 9-year-old Jassim, a 5-year-old Fahad, and an Iraqi boy, Ali, also 5 years old. This shared past links the present to unresolved events from two decades earlier. The rescue team—Faleh, Saeed, and Jaber—believes Fahad may already be dead. They recruit Jassim, aware that he once ventured into the Iraqi desert with the same group, forcing him to confront buried memories. As the rescue mission intensifies, the team is forced to split up, escalating the danger. Meanwhile, Fahad discovers he has been separated from the other kidnapped men and is being held by one of the captors—Ali’s father, Bu Ali—who had accompanied the group in 1999. Time is running out, and just as Jassim reaches Fahad, a violent confrontation erupts.”
Credits
- Director
- S.M. Al Thani
- Screenwriter
- S.M. Al Thani
- Producer
- Luca Bercovici