Curatorial note:

Cinema's borders can be vast, open and flexible — unlike the borders Soraya is trying to cross. Though her journey turns out to be long and difficult, the film never reduces her story to an unbroken string of trials. Its episodic structure preserves a sense of life that doesn't fold neatly into a single dramatic arc. Soraya films her own journey and narrates her story herself, and her drawings become a full part of the storytelling. This lets her keep her agency, appearing in the film not as an object of sympathy but as a full co-author of her own story.

Synopsis:

16-year-old Afghan artist Soraya is trying to reach Austria to reunite with her mother. Her attempts to leave Iran stretch out over five years. Throughout that time, Soraya films what happens herself on her phone camera and largely determines how her own story is told. Travelling alongside her are a fox, a pink moon and a clown — characters from her drawings. Interwoven with the documentary footage, they open a window into Soraya's inner world, adding another dimension to her migration story: one about the redemptive power of imagination.

Languages:

Persian, Dari, Turkish

Festivals and Awards:

Award: IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), 2025, Best Film · International Competition

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