Marina, 18, orphaned at a young age, must travel to Spain’s Atlantic coast to obtain a signature for a scholarship application from the paternal grandparents she has never met. She navigates a sea of new aunts, uncles, and cousins, uncertain whether she will be embraced or met with resistance. Stirring long-buried emotions, reviving tenderness, and uncovering unspoken wounds tied to the past, Marina pieces together the fragmented and often contradictory memories of the parents she barely remembers.
Golden Bear winner Carla Simón concludes her family cycle (Summer 1993, Alcarràs) with a poignant journey, subtly addressing the taboos surrounding AIDS and drug addiction. Using her mother's letters as a backbone to the story and directly taking imagery from them to put on screen, Simón blends bittersweet tenderness with nostalgia, crafting a film with universal resonance through its exploration of family bonds.