A scene from the film "The Things You Kill" is shown in this undated handout photo. The Canadian Press/Handout - Mongrel Media
A deeply personal psychological thriller by Toronto professor Alireza Khatami — The Things You Kill, has been chosen as Canada’s official submission for the Academy Awards.
Telefilm Canada announced Tuesday that the film will represent the country in the best international feature category. Earlier this year, it was premiered at Sundance and is scheduled for a theatrical release next month.
Khatami, an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, admits the moment is both exciting and unsettling.
“It feels unnatural to stand before an audience and reveal your inner wounds,” he said in a recent video call. “This story is drawn so closely from reality that I fear my family watching it.”
A Story Rooted in Family Trauma
The Turkish-language film follows Ali, a university professor grappling with his mother’s mysterious death. As he investigates, he’s forced to confront his own place within the family’s history.
Although framed as a thriller with surrealist touches, the story stems from Khatami’s own long-buried family trauma. For him, the process of turning it into cinema was both painful and necessary.
“Autofiction is a way to tame personal experiences for the screen,” he explained. “I didn’t invent much. My task was to prune, trim, and reshape my past into narrative form.”
Protecting Family While Creating Art
Khatami revealed that he deliberately kept the film’s details from his relatives. He does not expect them to watch it, despite their ongoing support throughout his career.
“I hope they don’t see it. It would not be easy for them,” he admitted. “They’ve always backed me, but my family doesn’t see me as a filmmaker. To them, I’m just a son.”
This balancing act between honesty and protection, he said, was one of the toughest aspects of making the film.
An International Collaboration
The Things You Kill is a co-production between Turkey, France, Poland, and Canada. The film adds to Khatami’s growing reputation on the international stage.
His debut feature, Oblivion Verses, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2017 and won the award for best screenplay. That success cemented him as a filmmaker unafraid to explore difficult, layered stories.
Canada’s Bid for Oscar Glory
Each year, countries around the world select one film to compete in the Academy Awards’ international feature category. From those submissions, the Academy narrows the list to 15 films in December. The official five nominees are announced in January.
The Academy Awards are set to take place on March 15.
Last year, Canada submitted Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language. It reached the shortlist but failed to secure a nomination.
With The Things You Kill, Canada now places its hopes in a film both haunting and intimate — one that blends personal history with cinematic artistry.
For Khatami, the journey remains bittersweet. Recognition from the world’s most prestigious awards ceremony is thrilling, but sharing his most private wounds with audiences is something he still finds daunting.
“It’s terrifying,” he said. “But it’s also the reason we tell stories — to face what we fear.”
