Ghost Trail

Justice knows no border for Hamid (Adam Bessa), who has taken refuge in France after being detained and tortured by the Assad regime in Syria. Exiled and undercover, the mild-mannered literature professor now works as part of a secret group pursuing Assad’s enforcers, who have fled Syria and assumed new identities in Europe – including the guard responsible for inflicting unspeakable abuse upon him. Covertly communicating their life-or-death decrees through a multiplayer video game, the undercover cell operates in broad daylight but wrestles with how far they can push their retribution in a land that only faintly recalls Assad’s atrocities. With his mother now living in a refugee camp in Beirut, Hamid puts on a brave face and extols his new life, but the cracks begin to show as he becomes consumed by the hunt. Hot on the trail of a man at his local university (Tawfeek Barhom) who bears a striking resemblance to his torturer, Hamid is sure that he’s identified the culprit, but can he convince his compatriots that his intuition is dead certain? Sensitively reckoning with recent history, director Jonathan Millet delivers a tense espionage thriller that explores the opaque relationship between justice and vengeance.

“Ghost Trail makes it look easy, but the movie walks a tricky line: It’s a juicy piece of entertainment that also engages sincerely with its painful, topical subject matter.” -The Hollywood Reporter

“The quest for justice fuels a tense manhunt... which balances cloak and dagger intrigue with an acute psychological exploration of grief, loss and exile.” -Screen International

“[Jonathan Millet and Adam Bessa's] combined efforts allow the film to marry some of the best aspects of spy thrillers and slow cinema in a portrait of the ways that wars haunt us long after we escape them.” -IndieWire