In the heat of the Berlin summer, Maria is dying. Her 16-year-old son, Ilay, drifts through the city’s outskirts with his friends, while at home, Ana, a Mexican palliative care nurse, tends to the gravely ill woman. Ilay increasingly slips into a state of insomnia and daydreaming, fleeing from his mother’s approaching death and threatening to lose touch with reality. At the same time, Ana must contend with the demands of her demanding job and the burden of her difficult past… Through quiet, intense imagery, Saša Vajda’s first feature film depicts the everyday lives of Ilay and Ana. The bonds between the characters are delicate, and the mundane gently intertwines with the dreamlike. The film premiered in the Generation section at the 76th Berlinale in 2026.

We are very pleased to welcome lead actors Mohammed Yassin Ben Majdouba and Shanti Philipp for a discussion following the screening. In the film, Shanti plays one of the palliative care nurses, and she works as one in real life as well.

A hidden gem of the Berlinale. — Cineuropa

This film exudes something incredibly comforting. — kino-zeit.de