Fresh out of its successful world premiere at the prestigious Horizons Section of the Venice Film Festival, Mohamed Ben Attia's film BEHIND THE MOUNTAINS is set to continue captivating audiences at the World Cinema Section of the upcoming Busan International Film Festival, which is scheduled to run from October 4th to the 13th.
 
Previously, BEHIND THE MOUNTAINS enjoyed full-house screenings and positive reception throughout the Venice Film Festival, with David Katz of Cineruopa calling it the “most unconventional, and arguably the most rewarding” of Ben Attia’s filmography so far. 
 
The film follows Rafeek, who, after spending four years in jail, decides to take his only son behind the mountains to show him an incredible find.
 
BEHIND THE MOUNTAINS is written and directed by Ben Attia, who won the Best First Feature Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for his film HEDI. The film also stars Majd Mastoura — who previously won Best Actor at the same festival — rising talent Samer Bisharat, Walid Bouchhioua, Salma Zeghidi, and Helmi Dridi.
 
Lensed by Frédéric Noirhomme, BEHIND THE MOUNTAINS is edited by Lenka Fillnerova and co-produced by Dora Bouchoucha and Lina Chaabane (Nomadis Images); Jean Pierre, Luc Dardenne, and Delphine Tomson (Les Film Du Fleuve); Nadim Cheikhrouha (Tanit Films); and Giovanni Robbiano and Lorenzo Rappetti (010films). The film also received financial support from the Red Sea Fund when it was in the project phase.
 
Finally, the film is distributed worldwide by Luxbox, while MAD Solutions handles Arab world sales.
 
Mohamed Ben Attia was born in Tunisia in 1976, graduating from the Institut de Hautes Etudes Commerciales in 1998 before studying Audiovisual Communication at the University of Valenciennes in France.
 
He kicked off his filmmaking career with five shorts — ROMANTISME: DEUX COMPRIMES MATIN ET SOIR; KIF LOKHRIN, which won the Silver Award at the FESPACO in 2006; MOUJA; LOI 76; and SELMA, which competed in the Official Competition of the Clermont-Ferrand Festival and won several awards in various other festivals.
 
He then released his debut feature, INHEBEK HEDI, in 2016. The film was a major success, winning the Best First Film Award and the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 2016 Berlinale and receiving wide acclaim from both critics and audiences around the world.
 
He found similar success in his second feature film, DEAR SON, which went on to screen as part of the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes in 2018.