Fatih Akin’s ‘Ghost Song’ Brings Love, Loss and the Supernatural to San Sebastian

German filmmaker Fatih Akin is making his return to the international festival circuit with Ghost Song, a poetic supernatural drama that explores love, grief and the boundary between life and death. The film will open the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival and compete in the Official Selection.

Known in German as Geister, the film stars Mariam Dawoud and Eren M. Güvercin as Farasha and Faris, two 20-year-olds who meet at a graduation party and fall in love instantly. Everything changes when Farasha dies suddenly that same night.

Rather than let death end their relationship, *Ghost Song* follows Farasha as she discovers a way to enter Faris’ dreams for 40 nights. The couple manages to continue their romance across the divide between two different worlds.

The film gives Akin a chance to weave together an emotionally raw love story with fantasy and supernatural elements. He’s described it as a different kind of romance, drawing inspiration from anime, manga and classic romantic cinema.

It also marks the first time Akin is competing for San Sebastián’s Golden Shell with a feature film. The world premiere happens at the Kursaal on September 18, following the festival’s opening ceremony.

Ghost Song joins a competitive lineup of 17 films that includes work from Jesse Eisenberg, Pablo Larraín and Mike Leigh, along with three directorial debuts.

Akin arrives at the festival with considerable international credentials. His 2004 drama Head-On* won the Golden Bear at Berlin, while The Edge of Heaven earned him the Best Screenplay prize at Cannes in 2007. Soul Kitchen later took the Special Jury Prize at Venice.

Known for films that shift between cultures and genres, Akin takes a more dreamlike approach here, centering on young love while exploring mourning, memory and whether emotional bonds can survive death.

The 106-minute film is a German production featuring Arabic, German and Turkish dialogue. Beyond its leads, the cast includes Carlotta von Falkenhayn and Gabriel-Winner Amorim.

Ghost Song opens the 2026 San Sebastián Film Festival on September 18, where Akin will compete for the Golden Shell.