Jessie is about to leave on holiday with her mum and little sister – but sneaks out to party with her boyfriend, Lux. When the pills finally kick in and they climb a high-rise to watch the sunrise, Lux falls asleep – and doesn’t notice Jessie walking to the edge and falling to her death. A year later, still recovering from their loss, her mother Ella and sister Melli cling to a fragile routine of everyday life. But when Lux re-enters their lives, Ella can’t admit that deep down she blames him for her daughter’s death – and he can’t admit how badly he needs her to forgive him. Driven by a strange impulse, Ella takes Lux and Melli to Tenerife – the holiday that never happened.
“I don’t believe in an afterlife, but I envy those who do. I do believe that the images of the people we love stay with us. We watch them as they continue with everyday life, clinging to a fragile routine that barely masks an impossible wish: to somehow return to a place where none of this has happened. But our reality isn’t built to allow that. But then, impossibly, in this film it does happen: you turn the corner and step into an image, and the world folds in on itself, in all its strangeness. The sun finally has the decency to stand still, and for a moment – or forever – everything seems to be fine again.” (Sandra Wollner)
Sandra Wollner
Born in 1983 in Leoben, Austria, Wollner studied theatre, film and media studies at the University of Vienna before pursuing further studies in documentary filmmaking at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. During her studies, she gained experience as an editor and directed short films and documentaries. She is widely recognised for her unconventional, atmospheric cinematic style, which explores challenging psychological themes and the boundaries between reality and fiction.