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Honeyjoon

Persian Lela and her daughter June take a trip to the romantic Azores amidst grief and honeymooners.

synopsis

Kurdish-Iranian Lela and her American daughter June take a trip to the romantic Azores for the first anniversary of their beloved husband/father’s death. June hopes the island will bring them back to life, like it did for her dad. But surrounded by honeymooners, Lela just sinks deeper. June seeks pleasure (despite no privacy.) Lela wakes June up scrolling sad news from Iran, all about Woman Life Freedom (despite covering June’s bikini body up all day). Thank god their tour guide is hot. But João, a philosophical surfer, is more drawn to Lela’s deep talk than June’s flirting. Lela finds herself coming back to life. And June finds herself alone in the backseat. When Iran news brings Lela down again, June shows her women dancing bravely without veils. Then she discovers Lela’s secret antidepressants – turns out, they were dad’s. He never wanted to talk about his pain, like father, like daughter. On the anniversary, Lela surprises June by swimming in her underwear. But she still tries to cover June up. June erupts and they separate. June finally gets her chance for a sexy escape with João. But she ends up releasing all her tears instead, while Lela finds pleasure at the hotel. Turns out feeling alive includes feeling...all of it. Reunited after, they dance for all the women who can’t.

Director’statement

Honeyjoon is a story about Lela and June, their grief, their connection to Woman Life Freedom (the Persian movement for women to be free). But underneath it all, it’s a universal story about trying to enjoy life, despite everything. It’s about women reclaiming their pleasure. About being free in your body. About living with grief. About trying, and failing, to flirt. It’s about being human. The artistic approach to this film creates space for contrast, and the humour and meaning that evokes. Sensual visuals are juxtaposed with the reality: this isn’t some romantic summer trip. By the end, Lela finds that her perspective in the dark makes joy shine brighter. June wants to run from grief towards life but finds that feeling alive means feeling all of it. When we finally think she’s going to get a sexy release, June ends up crying instead. Meanwhile Lela rediscovers her pleasure. When my beautiful, life-loving dad died, I wondered: could I ever really enjoy life again? This film celebrates being alive, filled with light and shadow and all the little glimmers in between.

TFL PROGRAMME:
ComedyLab 2024

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