For Malika, her hometown Tangier can only offer a dull life, one that she hopes to escape with her music. She sees her opportunity when a producer expresses interest in her band—all Malika has to do is pay for the recording studio. With no job and her family facing financial crisis, Malika sees her ticket slipping away until she meets a wealthy hashish distributor that can help, and a drug run across the Moroccan border becomes her only chance. Energetic with fiery confidence, Sean Gullette’s debut feature shows the desperate measures we take to follow our dreams and break free from the confines of our environment.

Traitors is screening as part of a special cultural partnership with Venice Days where a European film showcased at Venice Days is selected by organizers there to have its international premiere at Tribeca. In 2013, Venice Days premiered Lenny Cooke.

-Frederic Boyer