Pakistan | Saudi Arabia | Germany | UK 2025
Opening September 3, 2026

Directed by: Seemab Gul
Writing credits: Seemab Gul
Principal actors: Nazualiya Arsalan, Tutu Baba, Ziarat Gul

Ten-year-old Rabia (Nazualiya Arsalan) is upset because her girls’ school in Pakistan has been closed; the teachers no longer show up. She would much rather be in school, than at home with her mother. One of her friends, a boy, has no such problem; the boys’ school stays open. She questions people in her village, who reply that the school is haunted by a ghost, i.e. a jinn (djinn). She talks to her teacher in his house, but he’s not planning to return. Another teacher is in the hospital.  Eventually, she actually enters her classroom, writes on the blackboard, and pretends to talk to her friends as if they were sitting there. She tells the guys in her village to visit the school, which they do, but only in order to vandalize it.

The absolute star of Ghost School is actress Nazualiya Arsalan, as Rabia, who completely holds our attention throughout all eighty-eight minutes. She spends time walking through the village, into the woods, and along the beach. The world premiere was in 2025 in Toronto. The Berlinale featured her European premiere. The idea was influenced by the 1987 film Where Is the Friend’s House? by Abbas Kiarostami. School is important here as many of the parents, including Rabia’s mother, are analphabetic. See if you can guess the ending, which is marvelous in the last thirty seconds. (Becky T.)