World Cinema
The Things You Kill / The Things You Kill
Director's bio
Alireza Khatami
Alireza Khatami (b. 1980) is an Iranian-Canadian filmmaker whose work often explores memory, trauma, and social injustice. Raised in Iran’s Khamse tribe, he later studied filmmaking abroad. His debut feature Oblivion Verses (2017) won the Venice Horizons Award. He co-directed Terrestrial Verses (2023, Cannes Un Certain Regard) with Ali Asgari, and continues to craft films that blend mystery, allegory, and political critique, including The Things You Kill (2025).
Synopsis
Ali, a university professor of Turkish origin teaching abroad, returns home after hearing about his ailing mother’s suspicious death. Haunted by grief and suspicion — particularly toward his estranged, authoritarian father — Ali befriends a seemingly meek gardener named Reza and hires him. As secrets unfold and long-buried tensions resurface, Ali is drawn into a dark psychological spiral. Reza’s presence proves to be destabilizing. What begins as grief and a quest for truth gradually degenerates into identity confusion, violence, and a horrifying blurring of boundaries between vengeance, guilt, and self.
Details of Cast
Ekin Koç, Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Hazar Ergüçlü, Ercan Kesal, Serhat Nalbantoğlu, Aysan Sümercan, Selen Kurtaran
Details of Crew
DoP: Bartosz Świniarski Editor: Alireza Khatami, Selda Taşkın Music: Benjamin Laurent Sound Design: Ange Hubert.
Producer Details
Alireza Khatami; Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff; Cyriac Auriol; Mariusz Włodarski; Michael Solomon
Writer Details
Alireza Khatami
Stills
Films in this category
2025
The Daughter
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Cotton Queen
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Kontinental 25
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Magellan
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Reedland
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Omaha
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Crossing
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