“We have to write stories that people from different countries, geographies, and languages can connect with,” says Iranian-Canadian filmmaker Alireza Khatami about his third feature The Things You Kill, which is Canada’s submission for the nomination process for Best International Film in the 98th annual Academy Awards®.

A coproduction between Turkey, France, Poland, and Canada, the film tells the story of a professor who, haunted by his mother’s death, plots revenge that reveals family secrets and shadows.

The collaborative process of bringing to life The Things You Kill reflects something the award-winning filmmaker appreciates about coproduction: showcasing important stories that speak to shared human experiences. “I cannot focus on the differences. I have to focus on shared humanity,” he says. “The Things You Kill is about what it means to lose a mother. It doesn’t matter if you’re Polish, French, Canadian… you can understand the pain of losing a parent.”

And, as evidenced by the critical acclaim for The Things You Kill, which premiered at Sundance (and took home the festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award) this universal story has global appeal.

Khatami is the film’s director, writer, editor, and producer, yet Canada is in fact a minority coproducer of The Things You Kill.

“With this, the pan-Canadian Selection Committee is taking a huge step forward telling the BIPOC community: ‘We want to hear your stories, and we are willing to share your stories on the world stage.’” says Khatami, who was born into the Indigenous Khamse tribe in southeast Iran and is now based in Toronto. “This has been very encouraging for the community. I personally received many emotional calls from BIPOC filmmakers who thought they would never have a chance because their film is in another language or started in a different country. I congratulate Telefilm for taking that necessary step forward.

Indeed, without systems in place such as coproduction that support voices that lie beyond the mainstream, these are stories that might not otherwise be told, Khatami explains. “Some stories are worth telling and we need mechanisms that enable this. Urgent stories, critical stories that need to be heard, and coproduction is the best way of making these stories happen.”

Collaborating Across Borders

Despite being a minority co-producer, with Khatami holding the key creative roles, Canada was in many ways the “glue” that held the project together, explains Canadian producer Michael Solomon (Band With Pictures), who was one of the first to sign on in the project’s early stages.

Yet collaborating across borders, every partner’s contribution was important to this labour of love! “In coproduction you’re constantly problem solving as a team, this is done at many different levels and stages of the production,” Solomon says about the process, noting his appreciation for Canada’s coproduction treaties with countries worldwide for facilitating coproduction in general. “My role as a producer [on this project] was mainly to shoulder some of the administrative weight thrown at the Ontario production company, which is Alireza’s.”

As for one of the project’s France producers, Elisa Sepulveda-Ruddoff (Fulgurance), she first met Khatami when she acted in his feature debut, Oblivion Verses. (Which, by the way, took home the Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Venice Film Festival). Now a film producer, she came onboard the project.

An Open-Minded Cinematic Process

Many surprises awaited the team on their journey to bringing The Things You Kill to life. As such, Khatami appreciates Telefilm’s understanding “that filmmaking is a very fluid matter” requiring what he describes as structured flexibility, Khatami notes. “This was a tremendous help for us. Without their help, the film would never have seen the light of a projector.”

Throughout the filmmaking process, Khatami valued the creative input of international teams, from development to post – another potential benefit of coproduction, he adds. “In the development process, the story gets polished because you get feedback and readings from amazing artists. This continues in the production stage because you have people from different counties on set, and in post-production as well. For example, in our case, the sound was done in France and part of the post-production was done in Canada, so that process continues all the way through to the end – which makes the film much more refined.”

The film’s other funders include Eurimages, the cultural support fund of the Council of Europe, which promotes international partnerships and coproductions. Canada is its first non-European member, and since becoming a member in 2017, 35 Canadian productions received support from Eurimages.

In terms of advice on collaborating internationally, The Things You Kill benefitted from making room for different ideas and perspectives. “I would say to all the filmmakers out there who are thinking of coproduction, they should not go in thinking there is one way to tell the story. It’s a collaborative process and you have to allow other partners coming to the table to have a say in how this film will be shaped. If you go in with that open mind, you will walk away with a much better story and a much better film.”

Will The Things You Kill make it to the next step of the Academy Awards® nomination process? On December 16, 2025, the Academy will announce its shortlist of 15 titles, selected from submissions of countries around the world for consideration for the Best International Film category, followed by the nomination announcements on January 22, 2026. The 98th Academy Awards will take place March 15, 2026. The Things You Kill is coproduced by Tell Tall Tale, Fulgurance, Remora Films, Lava Films, Band With Pictures and Sineaktif. It is being distributed in Canada by Mongrel Media. International sales are handled by Best Friend Forever.

About the selection process for Canada’s Choice: As the appointed non-voting chair of the committee, Telefilm Canada organizes the annual pan-Canadian Selection Committee for Canada’s submission to the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards®. The vote was determined by a pan-Canadian committee of industry organizations and guilds, as well as filmmakers and industry professionals appointed to represent organizations.16 films were submitted for consideration as Canada’s Choice this year. The committee met the morning of August 26th to select the film.