Behind the Mountains

Rafik is released from prison after four years and wishes to restore his relationship with his son. High up in the Tunisian mountains, we follow them on a journey aiming to challenge physical laws.

An ordinary man goes berserk at his workplace one day. After four years in prison, there is one thing Rafik wants, and he kidnaps his son to take him up to the mountains to show him something. Does the son see that his father can fly?

Behind the Mountains moves slowly and with few words at the start. Gradually, Rafik and his son are joined by a shepherd, and the drama is interspersed with elements from the thriller genre as the trio faces challenges in the Tunisian mountains. Lead actor Majd Mastoura clearly shows that Rafik does not feel free in the conventional life, while his care for his son shines through a troubled exterior.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year.

«Unorthodox, yet fascinating, “Behind the Mountains” is mostly concerned with passing on the inspiring idea that it only takes one person to believe things can be different for change to begin.»
– Variety –

Gunhild Sølvberg

Director

Mohamed Ben Attia is a Tunisian director and screenwriter who has directed several films. He has also participated as an actor in the science fiction series Renegades. We look forward to showing a Ben Attia film at the Arab Film Days again after the director visited the festival in 2017 with his first feature film Hedi.

This film is part of