Jakob Carl Sauer

Beirut lies in ruins. After the explosion in the city's port, collective trauma rises to the surface. How can life succeed after such a tragedy? The film carefully observes the following three years and zooms in on the lives of Aya - a Syrian refugee girl, Selim - an activist and painter, the Aladdin family - mourning a tragic loss, Yasmin - picking up calls at a suicide prevention hotline, and Andrea - who still believes in the city's spark for change. Meanwhile, a smoldering fire keeps on lingering in the port’s silos like a cautionary tale. Is it time to leave?

A new home, a promotion, a loving partner. Anna has everything she could wish for, and yet, the gradual inevitability of things begins to create a pressure within her that she can no longer bear. But where does Anna escape to when her life seems pretty much complete? Into housing complexes that swallow their residents like a beehive? Into labyrinthine furniture stores filled with endless room displays? Or into the life of a missing woman who looks just like her and works at an IKEA store?