Canadian Premiere
On the heels of their Belgrade nuptials and with a child on the way, Boris and Hoda (played by real-life actor-writer-director duo Boris Hadžija and Hoda Taheri) are a young couple ready to embark on a new chapter of their lives in Berlin. Boris is a gay man hailing from Serbia; Hoda an Iranian refugee; together, they choose to build a life that’s unique to them. With the last of their bureaucratic hurdles out of the way and Hoda’s EU passport in hand, they relax into a more unconventional lifestyle, slowly building their nest while indulging in casual sexual encounters on the side.
Hadžija and Taheri lean on their own experiences in this idiosyncratic docufiction that flips the script on immigrant narratives. I Plant My Hand in the Garden sidesteps melodrama, instead drawing on generational wisdom, dinner table and bedside conversations, and characters that refuse to be defined by societal expectations. This is reflected in its formal playfulness, with plotlines that glitch and reset on a whim.
Media Partner
Hoda Taheri, Boris Hadzija, Branka Hadžija, Jahandokht Taheri, Hadi Khanjanpour
Germany/Serbia/USA
2026
In English, Farsi, German, and Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Maximilian Feldkamp, Hoda Taheri, Boris Hadžija, Čarna Vučinić, Ena Bajraktarević
Screenwriter
Boris Hadžija & Hoda Taheri
Cinematography
Vytautas Katkus
Editor
Boris Hadžija
Production Design
Michael Schindlmeier
Boris Hadžija
Boris Hadžija is a Serbian-Montenegrin filmmaker and pianist based in Berlin. After his master studies in classical piano at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, Hadžija studied film directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin. His work includes the short films Mother is a Natural Sinner (2024) and Yugotransport (2023), as well as his debut feature, I Plant my Hand in the Garden (2026) which premiered in the Giornate degli Autori section of the Venice Film Festival.
Photo by Ruan Lanxi
Hoda Taheri
Hoda Taheri is an Iranian-German artist and filmmaker based in Berlin. She received a bachelor’s degree in visual communication from Limkokwing University in Malaysia and studied film directing at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin. Her Mother Trilogy premiered over three consecutive years at the Locarno Film Festival (2022–2024). Her debut feature I Plant My Hand in the Garden premiered in the Giornate degli Autori section of the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
Photo by Ruan Lanxi
Vanguard
See more films in this series
Hearing
Bảo Lê makes a notable entrance with this lush, meticulously composed feature debut that unfolds as a series of film tableaux drawing on moments in the life of a middle-aged mechanic whose work involves installing decibel meters across public spaces.
Forest High
High in the northern Alps, three women take turns caring for a mountain lodge as hikers come and go. Divided into three sections, we follow each caretaker as they settle in for their respective season and have their lives touched in different ways.
Image: © The Blue raincoat
Lust
Ralitza Petrova follows her Golden Leopard–winning debut with an emotionally textured drama about a middle-aged prison psychologist whose carefully managed routine unravels when she must travel to Bulgaria to settle her late, estranged father’s affairs.
Image: © Aporia Filmworks_Screening Emotions
I Plant My Hand in the Garden
Boris and Hoda, a newly married couple from Serbia and Iran, respectively, embark on a new chapter of their lives in Berlin. As they anticipate the birth of their child, they refuse to be defined by societal expectations.
Hear the Yellow
Suna returns to her native Anatolian village for her nephew’s wedding, where the mystery of her sister’s disappearance still looms over the small community. Determined to finally get to the bottom of it, she must reckon with complicated circumstances.
Image: © Anagraffilm
Ana, En Passant
Fernanda Salgado makes an elegant feature debut with this lyrical animated drama about a young Black woman returning to her late grandmother’s native town in Brazil to make sense of distant memories and her family’s legacy.