Jonathan Millet’s manhunt thriller GHOST TRAIL premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 15 to resounding applause and critical acclaim, captivating audiences with its gripping narrative and powerful performances as it opened the festival’s prestigious Critics’ Week.

From the moment the credits rolled, GHOST TRAIL garnered a standing ovation from the audience — a testament to the film's visceral intensity and formidable control. Jonathan Millet's directorial debut expertly cranks up the tension, aided by the churning electro-infused score by Yuksek and the meticulous sound design that immerses viewers in the characters' world.

Moreover, Critics were quick to write their reactions to the film, showering the film with much praise and acclaim for its artistry and thematic resonance, with Jon Frosch of The Hollywood Reporter hailing the film as a "tense, stirring, and expertly judged thriller," and commending the "blazing performances" by Adam Bessa and Tawfeek Barhom.

Meanwhile, Damon Wise of Deadline described GHOST TRAIL as “closer in spirit to Spielberg’s MUNICH,” while Fabien Lemercier From Cineuropa proclaimed it a "spellbinding first feature" that addresses revenge, trauma, and exile, and Christian Zilko of IndieWire praised the film's "beautiful shots" and went on to write how it “marries some of the best aspects of spy thrillers and slow cinema”.

Based on the true story of a secret group who hunt down the regime’s fugitive leaders, the film starts in Syria and follows Hamid, who joins a secret group tracking Syrian regime leaders on the run. His mission takes him to France, pursuing his former torturer for a fateful confrontation.

A joint production between France and Syria, the film stars French Tunisian star Adam Bessa — known for Netflix’s EXTRACTION and EXTRACTION 2, and winner of the Best Actor Award at Canne’s Un Certain Regard for HARKA — as well as Tawfeek Barhom and Julia Franz Richter.

Directed and co-written by Millet alongside Florence Rochat, GHOST TRAIL was lensed by Olivier Boonjing, edited by Laurent Sénéchal, and produced by Pauline Seigland and Philippe Logie. In terms of the bigger companies at play, the film was produced by Films Grand Huit, Nikofilms, and Hélicotronc, while MK2 handles the film’s World sales and MAD Distribution handles its sales in Arab-speaking countries.

Hailed as a “thrilling sensory film in which French-Tunisian actor Adam Bessa’s subtlety leaves us breathless” by the Critcs' Week's Artistic Director Ava Cahen, GHOST TRAIL was supported by several grants and organizations such as Canal+ Ciné+ & Arte, Eurométropole de Strasbourg, Eurimages, Franco-German Mini-Treaty, the Images of Diversity Fund, Cofinova 20, Cinémag 18, Indéfilms 12, Cinéaxe 5, BeTV, and the Berlin Regional Fund.

Jonathan Millet was born in Paris. After studying philosophy, he spent many years filming distant or inaccessible countries for image databases. Alone with his camera, he crossed and filmed around fifty countries (Iran, Sudan, Pakistan, all of South America, the Middle East, and the length and breadth of Africa).

Encouraged to go to the most remote regions, Millet learned to capture faces and spaces, in an attempt to transcribe an atmosphere in a few shots.

After this experience, he directed three short films, OLD LOVE DESERT (2012), YOU GO ROUND IN CIRCLES IN THE NIGHT AND YOU ARE DEVOURED BY FIRE (2015), AND ALWAYS WE WILL WALK (2016) — which was nominated for the 2018 César Award — and a medium-length film, LA VEILLÉE (2017). These films were selected in numerous festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand, Pantin, and Brest.

He also directed the feature documentary CEUTA, SWEET PRISON, which was released in cinemas in January 2014 after more than 60 festival selections.

His latest film TELL ME ABOUT THE STARS (2017) was shot in Antarctica and nominated at the Docudays UA International Documentary Human Rights Film Festival.