ATONEMENT
Director-Screenwriter: Reed Van Dyk
Logline: Displaced from their home by U.S. military action during the early days of the Iraq War, the Khachaturian family finds refuge with relatives, gathering their three generations together under one roof. But when another bombing erupts nearby, they decide to return to their home across the city. As they navigate the war-torn streets of Baghdad, the family is trapped in a firefight between U.S. Marines and insurgents, and one Marine’s split-second decision devastates the family. Years later, haunted by his time in Iraq and aided by a New Yorker journalist, the Marine seeks to reconcile with the Khachaturian matriarch and her surviving family members.
US Sales Agent: CAA, WME, Goodfellas
Panelists: Reed Van Dyk, Hiam Abbass, Boyd Holbrook, Kenneth Branagh
First Screening: Thursday, Sept. 10 at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Key Quote: “This is effectively an ‘aftermath of war’ movie, and these people’s lives continue to be shaped well after the ends of these wars. The effects of them carry on for years and decades. And one of the things I was very conscious of when making it and editing it, was that this was one story, one small story, and all these lives were deeply affected by this tragic incident. And stories like this multiply over and over again with every new day of any war, and that is something that is sort of a heavy hold.” — Van Dyk
Watch the panel video above.
The Deadline Studio at TIFF is hosted at Bisha Hotel and presented by Volvo, Columbia, Patrón and Schwarzkopf.
