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
Sanaya Andrade, Daílma Mendes, Alice da Luz, Nha Nha Rodrigues, João Galinha, Yuta Nakano
Switzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde
2024
In Cape Verdean Creole, Japanese, French and English with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
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
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.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Round Midnight: Ardeshir Plays Dexter Gordon
Loosely based on Bud Powell's time in Paris, Round Midnight (131 mins) is maybe the greatest of all films about jazz thanks to the towering performance of real-life jazz great Dexter Gordon. Saxophonist Ardeshir channels Gordon's vibe in his live set.
Montreal, ma belle
In this Valentine to discovering love later in life, the ever-elegant Joan Chen plays Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother in Montreal whose world is turned upside down when she meets and falls in love with a young Quebecoise.
Sirât
A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and Special Jury Prize Winner, Sundance, 2025, this exposé shot by a Russian primary teacher shows how the Putin propaganda machine works to militarize children.