Ghost Trail
Description
Director Jonathan Millet masterfully balances the tension of a political thriller with a deeply personal story of loss and survival in this tale of a Syrian exile haunted by his past. A former literature professor once incarcerated in Damascus’s notorious Sednaya prison, Hamid works with a covert group hunting war criminals, while engaging in a relentless quest to find the guard who tortured him. As he follows a lead at a Strasbourg university, Hamid must maintain his cover while confronting the weight of his trauma. Meanwhile, weekly phone calls with his mother, now a refugee in Beirut, offer a fragile link to a life that no longer exists. César-award nominee Adam Bessa delivers a magnetic performance as the tormented Hamid; his scenes with Tawfeek Barhom as his suspected tormentor, crackling with suspense. Ghost Trail shifts subtly from a gripping tale of pursuit to a sobering meditation on exile, justice, and the cost of vengeance. —Amir George
Biographies
Paris-born Jonathan Millet makes his narrative feature debut with Ghost Trail. He previously made a documentary feature Ceuta, douce prison (2013). His short films include narratives Old Love Desert (2012), Tu tournes en rond dans la nuit et tu es dévoré par le feu (2015), The Wake (2017), Et toujours nous marcherons (2017), Les dominos (2020), and Grand Huit (2020), and documentaries Tell Me About the Stars (2017) and La disparition (2021).