Hanami

On a remote volcanic island that everyone wants to leave, Nana has learned to stay. Her mother, Nia, who suffers from a mysterious illness, left the island soon after her birth. When Nana comes down with a high fever, she is sent to the foot of a volcano for treatment—and encounters a world suspended between dreams and reality. Years later, when Nana is a teenager, Nia returns. Directed and co-written by Denise Fernandes, born in Lisbon to Cape Verdean parents, Hanami won the Best Emerging Director Award and First Feature Awards – Special Mention at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival, and was honored at festivals in Chicago, Vancouver, São Paulo, and Carthage.