Dreams (2024)

DIRECTOR’S NOTE: "The story of DREAMS focuses on first love as a transformative experience that changes everything; it is intense, all-consuming, and fateful. It is also confusing, in that the mental and physical longing do not necessarily unfold at the same pace. Even though a crush can feel like an unstoppable force, it is not certain that a young person’s physical self can keep up with such intense emotions. In this sense, there can be a disconnect between the mental conception and the physical experience that can both feel confusing and traumatic. The strength and pain of first love are nevertheless overwhelming and can be remembered as such a wonderful event that later experiences struggle to measure up to it. In this way, first love also creates a recognizable longing among the adults who observe it. In the film, this is primarily the girl's mother and grandmother, who, by reading about the girl's experiences, reevaluate some of the choices related to sex and love that they themselves have made in life. The three women each have their own individual experiences (and opinions) of desire, freedom, empowerment, and responsibility, which are not fixed and sometimes contradict each other. Aside from love, the story also explores how sexual desire can be used to justify certain actions toward others and how even the delicate, deeply personal experience of a crush has a market value." AWARDS / FESTIVALS: WINNER: Golden Bear, Berlinale IFF 2025 WINNER: FIPRESCI Prize, Berlinale IFF 2025 WINNER: Guild Film Prize, Berlinale IFF 2025 OFFICIAL SELECTION: Berlinale IFF '25, Glasgow IFF '25, Sonoma IFF '25, Istanbul FF '25, HKIFF'25, Sydney FF '25, Taipei FF '25. SYNOPSIS: Johanne falls in love for the first time, with her teacher. To preserve her feelings, she documents her emotions and experiences in writing. When her mother and grandmother read what she has written, they are initially shocked by its intimate content but soon see that it has literary potential. As they debate whether to publish it, Johanne navigates the gap between her romantic fantasy and reality, and all three women confront their differing views on love, sexuality, and self-discovery.