Films

Official Oscar© Selection—Canada

Iranian-Canadian American filmmaker Alireza Khatami (Terrestrial Verses) delivers a chilling psychological thriller set in Turkey. The film follows Ali (Ekin Koç), a university professor unsettled by the suspicious death of his mother and the shadow of a domineering father. When an enigmatic gardener (Erkan Kolçak Köstendil), equal parts confidant and provocateur, enters his life, Ali draws him into a disturbing act of revenge that spirals into a fractured nightmare.

As reality blurs and long-buried tensions surface, cycles of violence and patriarchy tighten their grip. With stark imagery, haunting performances, and an atmosphere that slips between dream and dread, Khatami crafts a provocative exploration of grief, masculinity, and the legacies that bind us.

Introduction by Samhita Sunya (VAFF)