The Sydney Film Festival, scheduled from June 4 to 15, has unveiled two exciting titles from MAD Solutions for its 2025 lineup: Yunan and Têtes brûlées. Both films promise to deliver emotionally impactful narratives to a global audience.

Yunan, the latest creation by Syrian filmmaker Ameer Fakher Eldin, is the second chapter in his HOME trilogy, exploring themes of estrangement and exile. The story follows an Arab writer who, feeling disillusioned, abandons his life in Hamburg to retreat to a remote island in the North Sea, contemplating ending his life. However, an unexpected meeting with an elderly woman and her subtle acts of kindness gradually rekindle his desire to live.

Directed, written, and edited by Ameer Fakher Eldin, this film is a collaborative effort among Canada, Germany, and Italy, with contributions from Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The cast features notable talents, including Lebanese actor and filmmaker George Khabbaz, German actress Hanna Schygulla, Palestinian actor Ali Suleiman, and Game of Thrones stars Sibel Kekilli and Thomas Wlaschiha, alongside Lebanese theatre icon Nidal El Ashkar.

Ameer Fakher Eldin, a Syrian filmmaker based in Hamburg, was born in Kyiv in 1991 to Syrian parents from the occupied Golan Heights.

Joining Yunan in the festival lineup is Têtes brûlées, a touching coming-of-age tale from Belgian-Tunisian-Danish director Maja Ajmia Zellama. The film follows 12-year-old Eya as she copes with the sudden loss of her older brother, Younès. Through a heartfelt journey of grief, Eya discovers comfort in her imagination, her brother’s close-knit group of friends, and her own resilience as she learns to navigate life without him.

Produced by Komoko, with co-productions from Quetzalcoatl and 1080 Films, Têtes brûlées is a Belgian film enriched by Tunisian cultural elements. The cast includes Safa Gharbaoui, Mehdi Bouziane, Mounir Amamra—known for his role in DIVINES—along with Adnane El Haruati, Saber Tabi, Nicolas Makola, Mehdi Zellama, and Monia Taieb.