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Hanami film image; woman listens to conch shell

Hanami

Vanguard

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International Premiere

Set on a remote volcanic island in Cape Verde, this mesmerizing feature debut traces three formative stages in a young woman’s life, from birth to young adulthood. We follow Hanami as she comes into her own under the care and guidance of a community of women who surround her in the absence of her mother.

Denise Fernandes reveals a sublime visual sensibility as she explores the perimeters of the mother-daughter bond with an exquisitely textured touch, peppered with moments of magical realism. She interrogates a sense of belonging through a distinctive lens, portraying the two women as counterparts of the same root; where one is pushed out by the island, the other learns to become one with the land and its ways. This is a nuanced, lyrical piece of filmmaking that observes its own storytelling tides.

 

Best Emerging Director Award, Locarno 2024

 

Presented by

Media Partner

Director
Cast

Sanaya Andrade, Daílma Mendes, Alice da Luz, Nha Nha Rodrigues, João Galinha, Yuta Nakano

Credits
Country of Origin

Switzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde

Year

2024

Language

In Cape Verdean Creole, Japanese, French and English with English subtitles

Film Contact
18+
96 min
Award Winners Black Cinema Drama Women Directors
Alina Film, O Som e a Fúria, Ventura Film, RSI Radiotelevisione Svizzera

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Producer

Eugenia Mumenthaler, David Epiney, Luís Urbano, Sandro Aguilar

Screenwriter

Denise Fernandes, Telmo Churro

Cinematography

Alana Mejía Gonzalez

Editor

Selin Dettwiler

Production Design

Mathé

Original Music

Rahel Zimmermann

Denise Fernandes headshot; Hanami director

Denise Fernandes

Denise Fernandes (1990) was born in Lisbon to Cape Verdean parents and grew up in Switzerland. Her latest short film, Nha Mila (2020), premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in the Pardi di Domani section. Nha Mila was a European Film Awards candidate and has been screened at over 40 international film festivals. It was nominated as Best National Short Film at the Sophia Awards 2021 and invited by MoMa and Lincoln Center in New York for the New Directors/New Films Festival. Hanami, filmed in Cape Verde, is her feature directorial debut.

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