Hanami
Weaving between the natural and magical, Nana lives on a remote volcanic island from where everybody leaves. Left by her mother soon after birth, she will spend her life trying to find the right answer to the lingering question in her mind and soul: Should she stay or should she go?
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Friday, May 16, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Monday, May 26 - Sunday, June 1, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
For Nana, left by her mother soon after birth, the world seems as familiar as it is strange. She has always lived on the same volcanic island, part of the Cape Verde archipelago. We meet her as a newborn left in the hands of a group of women who represent all the love, care, and feminine energy that will surround her as she grows up. We encounter her again during her childhood, played by a delightful Dailma Mendes. She is a girl with a deep and fascinating gaze that connects with the magical environment of the island, her family, and her friends. Nana turns into a sensual and mysterious teenager played beautifully by Sanaya Andrade. When all those who left, including her own mother, and those who stayed get together once more on the island, the persistent question that anguishes her becomes stronger than ever: Should she stay or should she go? In her debut film, Denisse Fernandez wields a poetic and very personal answer to this dilemma with her careful framing, exquisite lighting, and sound design and editing, in this deeply moving story of nostalgia and belonging, where leaving doesn’t always mean to stop loving, and staying may be just the way to journey into our destiny.
- Director: Denise Fernandes
- Principal Cast: Sanaya Andrade, Daílma Mendes, Alice Da Luz
- Country: Switzerland, Portugal, Cape Verde
- Year: 2024
- Running Time: 96 min.
- Producer: Eugenia Mumenthaler, David Epiney, Luis Urbano, Sandro Aguilar
- Screenplay: Denise Fernandes, Telmo Churro
- Cinematographers: Alana Mejía Gonzalez
- Editors: Selin Dettwiler
- Music: Rahel Zimmermann
- Website: Official Film Website
- Awards: Göteborg Film Festival 2025 (Best International Debut, Cinematography), Locarno Film Festival 2024 (Best Emerging Director), Chicago Film Festival 2024 (Roger Ebert Award), Französischen Filmtage Tübingen (Best Film), Mostra São Paulo 2024 (Jury Prize, Best Feature Film, Art Direction), Festival des 3 Continents 2024 (Best Film: International Competition)
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: Cape Verdean Creole, English, Japanese, French
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- Format: DCP
- International Sales: MoreThan Films