See Exodus (dir. Abbe Hassan, Sweden, 2022), a gripping new drama about the global migration crisis as seen through the eyes of a shifty smuggler and the innocent young girl he takes under his wing, on May 15!
At the Istanbul international airport, Amal, a 12-year-old refugee from Syria, breaks free from the people holding her captive and collides with 40-year-old Sam, a professional human smuggler whose operation has just gone wrong. Though Sam is initially reluctant to save her, they soon find themselves speeding away from airport together in a taxi, where Sam learns of Amal’s hopes to be reunited with her sisters in Romania. As the pair join forces on a harrowing journey first by inflatable boat across the Black Sea, and on from Greece to Sweden, an unexpectedly warm friendship develops between the quick-witted young girl and her jaded traveling partner. And amid the peril of their surroundings, the journey becomes both their survival and their awakening.
A warm-hearted story of survival and friendship inspired by Abbe Hassan’s experience leaving war-torn Beirut for Sweden as a child, Exodus has been hailed as a “tender thriller” (Deadline) exploring the joy of human connection amid the heartbreaking circumstances of the Syrian Refugee Crisis.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Director, producer and screenwriter Abbe Hassan is the producer behind the critically acclaimed feature film A Hustler’s Diary (2017), which became one of the most successful Swedish films of the year. He has directed several short films, the latest being Gold (2017), which won ‘Best Short Film’ at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival Kids, and the Grand Short Film Prize at the 2018 Seoul Guro International Kids Film Festival. Hassan’s debut feature film Exodus opened Gothenburg Film Festival in 2023 and was met with great reviews. A Hustler’s Diary – The Series, a stand-alone series based on the hit movie of the same title, premiered in 2020. The popular comedy-drama is directed by Hassan and Ivica Zubak. Hassan is also director of the new SVT dramedy Älskade Samir which premiered in May 2023. In his films, Hassan strives to depict an intriguing and true-to-reality image of contemporary society, working with original voices and stories to combine quality with commercial appeal. Besides working with feature and short films, Hassan has produced over 60 commercials in the last seven years, and is one of the founders of the production company Indian Summer Film.
Image by Marios Theologis