Hollywood Thinks You Won’t Watch This! Omar Sy’s Drama Moves Deauville Festival Crowd

Fourteen films are vying for the Grand Prize at the 2024 American Film Festival in Deauville. Among them is “The Crossing,” a heart-wrenching drama, here is the synopsis:

A tragedy strikes a Syrian family in Aleppo, setting off a chain of events across four different countries involving relatives including a doctor and her daughter, a soldier, a smuggler, a poet, and a coast guard captain.

Directed by American filmmaker Brandt Andersen, the film is an adaptation of his own short film, “Refugee.” The activist was inspired by the men and women he met during his humanitarian journeys to Syria, Turkey, Greece, and Jordan.

After months of writing and rewriting the script, Andersen has finally crafted a screenplay that satisfies him. Divided into chapters, “The Crossing” narrates from the perspectives of a doctor and her daughter (Yasmine Al Massri, seen in Quantico), a soldier questioning his loyalty to the Syrian state (Yahya Mahayni), a ruthless smuggler (Omar Sy), and a father trying to reach Europe.

A Film That Turns Your Stomach

“The Crossing” belongs to those gut-wrenching films that confront us with the brutality of war and humanity without any sugarcoating, sometimes by showing it, often by suggesting it. It’s surprising how often we find ourselves looking away to avoid seeing the inevitable.

The tears of the audience bear witness to the accuracy and power of the dialogue and the performances, as well as the actors’ craft. Although the director managed to cast Omar Sy, who plays a particularly vile character, it was Yahya Mahayni who stole the show.

Mahayni also accompanied the director to Deauville, where they engaged with the audience and discussed the significance of a film like this: “These issues persist over time. But we can do something about it. The problem with making films about refugees is that they are tough to produce. Hollywood thinks you don’t want to see refugee stories. Moreover, we lack distributors. Yet, they are essential.”

The Crossing, a film by Brandt Andersen. Starring Yasmine Al Massri, Yahya Mahayni, Omar Sy.