BERLINALE COMPETITION TITLE
YUNAN
A powerful new feature from writer-director Ameer Fakher Eldin
Theatrical Screenings start January 16
in Vancouver:
January 16, 12:00pm, VIFF Cinema
January 17, 8:15pm, Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
January 18, 12:00pm, Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
January 19, 7:30pm, Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
January 20, 5:30pm, VIFF Cinema
January 22, 4:30pm, Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
in Montreal
Cinémathèque Québécoise –
https://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/fr/cinema/yunan/
Cinéma Moderne –
https://www.cinemamoderne.com/films/details/yunan-cine-rencontre/
Cinéma Public –
https://cinemapublic.ca/films/yunan/
PRESS RELEASE
YUNAN, the striking second feature from writer-director Ameer Fakher Eldin, distributed by Filmoption International, will open in theatres across Canada starting January 16, 2026. The film premiered in the Main Competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Bear, confirming Fakher Eldin as one of the most compelling emerging filmmakers working today.
Starring Ali Suliman (Paradise Now, Body of Lies, The Swimmers), Georges Khabbaz (Under the Bombs, Ghadi), Hanna Schygulla (New German Cinema icon; The Marriage of Maria Braun, The Story of Piera, Poor Things), Sibel Kekilli (Head-On, Game of Thrones), and Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things), the film assembles an exceptional ensemble from across Europe and the Middle East.
A cryptic story his ailing mother repeats in her struggle with Alzheimer’s lives within Munir. Carrying his solitude, he travels to a distant island in the North Sea, seeking an end to what
remains of his silence. There, in an isolation wrapped in cold and salt, he meets Valeska and her son Karl. From their shared silence, a fragile and uncertain closeness begins to grow. Between this encounter and the island’s nature, which seeps into him with its stillness and weight, something within his solitude begins to dissolve, and into his silence, a breath of life quietly returns.
Filmed on location in Germany and the Netherlands, YUNAN and draws on themes of exile, memory, and the quiet instability of identity. Combining natural elements with intimate, character-driven storytelling, the film continues Fakher Eldin’s exploration of displacement and the search for meaning in the aftermath of loss.
YUNAN has travelled widely since its Berlinale premiere, earning significant recognition across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America, including the Golden Firebird Award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Best Film and Best Actor at the Rotterdam Arab Film Festival, Best Cinematography at the Bari International Film & TV Festival, Best Film and a Jury Special Mention at FESCAAAL, Best Actor at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and the Arab Critics Award for Best European Film. Additional festival selections include Sydney, New Horizons, Cinéfest Sudbury, Hamburg, Red Sea, São Paulo Mostra (New Directors Competition), Windsor, Dharamshala, Cambridge, and many others.
A Canada-Germany-Italy co-production, YUNAN is produced by Dorothe Beinemeier (Red Balloon Film), Catherine Chagnon (Microclimat Films), Marco Valerio Fusco, Micaela Fusco (Intramovies), in collaboration with Palestine and Qatar and in association with Jordan and Saudi Arabia with the financial participation of Moin, Eurimages, DFF, Téléfilm Canada, SODEC, Quebec Tax Credit for Film or Television Production, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, MIC, Apulia Film Commission, Doha Film Fund, Jordan Film Fund, Fresco Films, Metafora, Tabi 360, Red Sea Fund, Mad Distribution, ImmerGuteFilm, ZDF and Arte.
YUNAN opens in select theatres in Canada starting January 16, and director Ameer Fakher Eldin will be in Toronto and Montreal for interviews in person and online. The film is distributed in Canada by Filmoption International.
About the Director
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 selected as Palestine’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. The film went on to win the Best Arab Film Award and the Shadi Abd El Salam Prize at the Cairo International Film Festival and received a nomination for Best Director at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, where it also won Best Cinematography. YUNAN is his second feature.
About Microclimat Films
In 2010, Catherine Chagnon founded Microclimat Films, a Quebec company dedicated to cinema outside the box. In 2021, Caroline Monnet’s feature Bootlegger opened the 50th Festival nouveau cinema and won the 2022 Prix Iris in the category of the Most Successful Film Outside Quebec. In 2025, Ameer Fakher Eldin’s second feature film, Yunan, coproduced with Europe and Middle East, premiered in the International Competition at Berlinale 2025.
About Filmoption International
Founded in 1975, Filmoption is a boutique distributor and production company based in Montreal, Canada. With a strong track record in both fiction and documentary, the company specializes in bold, auteur-driven cinema with global appeal. Filmoption champions new voices and collaborates closely with emerging and established talent to bring unique stories to screens worldwide. Recent titles include I Shall Not Hate (Cinema for Peace Award, CPH:DOX, Movies That Matter, DocEdge), Anna Kiri (Fantasia), CAMP (Fantastic Fest, Sitges), Who I Am Not (SXSW), and Bedrock (Berlinale Panorama 2025).
https://www.filmoptioninternational.com/