Among the regulars at the Abu Nawas café — a hangout for the Iraqi expat community in London — are Taufik (Haitham Ali), an aging poet haunted by his past; Muhannad (Waseem Abbas), a young gay IT specialist, who is trying but failing to keep his relationship with a German man a secret; and, working behind the counter, the mysterious, early-morning jogger Amal (Zahraa Ghandour), a once promising architect in hiding while on the run from a controlling husband who worked for Saddam Hussein’s secret service. But the arrival of a new Iraqi cultural attaché and the incitements spouted by a radical Islamist preacher soon threaten the safe haven for this diverse group of friends in this suspenseful, multi-layered ensemble thriller from Swiss-Iraqi director Samir (Iraqi Odyssey, PSIFF 2015).

Producer Joël Jent expected to be in attendance on January 8, 9, and 10.