Concrete Valley

Concrete Valley is a Canadian drama film, directed by Antoine Bourges and released in 2022.[1] The film centres on a family of Syrian immigrants to Canada who are struggling to establish themselves in the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The film has a cast of predominantly amateur actors.[2]

Concrete Valley
Directed byAntoine Bourges
Written byAntoine Bourges
Teyama Alkamli
Produced byShehrezade Mian
StarringHussam Douhna
Amani Ibrahim
Abdullah Nadaf
Aliya Kanani
CinematographyNikolay Michaylov
Edited byLindsay Allikas
Music byNawars Nader
Production
companies
General Use
Markhor Pictures
Distributed byMDFF
Release date
  • September 12, 2022 (2022-09-12) (TIFF)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish
Arabic

The film was written by Bourges and Teyama Alkamli, based in part on interviews with the cast about their own real experiences as immigrants.[2] It stars Hussam Douhna as Rashid, who was a doctor in Syria but has been humiliated by his inability to use his skills in his new home; Amani Ibrahim as his wife Fahra, who finds meaning by participating in a volunteer neighbourhood cleanup crew; and Abdullah Nadaf as their son Ammar.[1] Aliya Kanani, the main professional actress in the cast, has a supporting role as the leader of the community cleanup group.[1]

The film premiered in the Wavelengths program at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] It was later screened at the 73rd Berlin Film Festival in February 2023,[4] before going into commercial release in July.[5]

Critical response

Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail positively reviewed the film, writing that "the performers’ sometimes stilted, halting line-readings circumvent a sense of amateurism due to the film’s central thematic preoccupations – every character here is learning to live a new life, unsure of themselves, their language, their place. The result is rather thrilling, with Bourges, his co-writer Teyama Alkamli and his cast building a different kind of cinematic storytelling right before our eyes."[5]

References
  1. Pat Mullen, "Concrete Valley Review: Straddling Two Worlds". Point of View, September 12, 2022.
  2. Mira Miller, "A movie about immigrating to Thorncliffe Park is getting its world premiere in Toronto". BlogTO, September 11, 2022.
  3. Mark Asch, "‘Concrete Valley’ Review: An Understated Study Of The Emasculation Of Exile". The Playlist, September 12, 2022.
  4. Scott Roxborough, "Berlin Fest Adds World Premieres of John Malkovich’s ‘Seneca,’ Alex Gibney’s Boris Becker Doc". The Hollywood Reporter, December 20, 2022.
  5. Barry Hertz, "Canadian drama Concrete Valley delivers an uncanny level of richly rewarding cinema: In Concrete Valley, Antoine Bourges, his co-writer Teyama Alkamli and the cast build a different kind of cinematic storytelling right before our eyes". The Globe and Mail, July 17, 2023.


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