HANAMI

Denise Fernandes
Cape Verde / Switzerland / Portugal | 2024 | Original version with English subtitles | 96 min

SAT 15 NOV
19:30 SINEMA TRANSTOPIA

HANAMI tells the coming-of-age story of Nana, who was left as a baby on a remote volcanic island by her mother Nia. When Nana falls seriously ill, she is sent to the foot of a volcano for treatment, where she encounters a world between dream and reality. Years later, as a teenager, Nia finally returns to the island. How will the reunion between mother and daughter unfold after so many years? Filmed on the Cape Verdean island of Fogo, HANAMI offers a magical glimpse into this volcanic island, accompanied by a deeply moving story of longing and belonging.

DENISE FERNANDES was born in Lisbon in 1990. The Portuguese filmmaker of Cape Verdean descent studied film at CISA (Conservatorio Internazionale di Scienze Audiovisive) in Lugano and the Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV in Cuba. Her short films BREAD WITHOUT JAM (2012) and IDYLLIUM (2013) received multiple awards. HANAMI is her first feature film and was selected from 70 projects for the Solothurner Talent Lab 2016, also receiving recognition from the Swiss Society of Authors (SSA) as the Best First Project. The film had its world premiere in 2024 at the Concorso Cineasti del presente in Locarno and has since been awarded at numerous festivals, most recently winning the Roger Ebert Award at the Chicago Film Festival (2024), the Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award at the Göteborg Film Festival (2025), and the MAX Award for Best Feature Film at the IndieLisboa International Film Festival (2025).