Red Path

Les enfants rouges

TIFF65: Greek Premiere
When a group of jihadists attacks two young shepherds deep in the Tunisian mountains, 14-year-old Ashraf witnesses the horrific beheading of his cousin Nizar and is forced to carry the severed head back to his family as a grim message. Traumatized by the tragedy, Ashraf must now confront his own fears and lead his relatives to the site of the attack to retrieve the body. Based on a true story rooted in the social realities of rural Tunisia, Red Path delves into the depths of a wounded young soul grappling with the trauma of loss and the absurdity of violence. Through its raw portrayal of a boy’s journey to overcome his pain, the film presents a powerful coming-of-age narrative that intertwines the personal with the political. Blending naturalism with dreamlike elements, Red Path explores the delicate balance between reality and the subconscious, ultimately searching for the protagonist’s redemption and reminding us of the cruel fate that often befalls children in conflict zones.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Lotfi Achour
Script: Natacha de Pontcharra, Lotfi Achour
Cinematography: Wojciech Staroń
Editing: Ewin Ryckaert, Malek Chatta
Sound: Aymen Laabidi
Music: Venceslas Catz, Jawhar Basti
Actors: Ali Helali, Yassine Samouni, Wided Dabebi, Jemii Lamari, Latifa Gafsi, Salha Nasraoui, Younes Naouar
Production: APA: Artistes Producteurs Associés, La Luna Productions, Versus Production, Shipsboy
Producers: Anissa Daoud, Sébastien Hussenot, Lotfi Achour
Co-producers: Jacques-Henri Bronckart, Gwennaëlle Libert, Joanna Szymańska, Edyta Janczak-Hiriart
Production Design: Mohamed Mouhli
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Tunisia, France, Belgium, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
Production Year: 2024
Duration: 101'
Contact: Mpm Premium

Lotfi Achour

A theater and cinema director, Lotfi Achour directed more than twenty-five theatrical productions in London, Paris, Tunis, Avignon, and beyond. His last play was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company for the London Olympics and he was the author of an installation for the 2006 Nuit Blanche in Paris. In film, Achour directed four award-winning short films that screened from Clermont-Ferrand to Tokyo, including the 2016 César Awards nominated Father and Law of the Lamb, selected in the Official Competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and the 2017 César Awards ceremony. Burning Hope (2016) is his first feature film. Achour is currently working on a documentary project and his next fiction feature film, titled Severed Head.

Filmography

2014 Père (short)
2016 La Laine sur le dos (short)
2017 Burning Hope
2022 Angle Mort (short)
2024 Red Path