Though both live in the US now, middle-aged Lela (Amira Casar) and her adult daughter June (Ayden Mayeri) could hardly be less alike. The mother is a British-accented emigre who fled the Iranian Revolution decades ago and remains bitterly attuned to her homeland’s ongoing political travails. West Coaster June is a glam sensualist who doesn’t want to dwell on such negatives. Together they’re visiting the Azores, Portugal’s island archipelago, a place beloved by their late husband and father as a way to commemorate him. But amidst the distractions of spectacular views and honeymooning couples in this Atlantic “paradise”—not to mention one first-class hunk of a tour guide (Jose Condessa)—emotions other than grief arise. Writer-director Lilian T. Mehrel’s lovely seriocomic debut feature offers a gently insightful view of complicated family bonds. And its scenic charms just might give you a new destination-vacation goal. —Dennis Harvey
2025 MIND THE GAP CREATION PRIZE HONORABLE MENTION
Lilian T. Mehrel
Lilian T. Mehrel is an award-winning writer and director with a visionary sense of feeling and humor. Her debut feature, Honeyjoon(2025), premiered at Tribeca, and won the Tribeca AT&T Untold Stories Award. Other honors include the 2025 SFFILM Rainin Grant, Torino FilmLab ComedyLab, Cine Qua Non Storylines Lab, Warner Media TFI Co/Lab, and a Sony Pictures Classics / Marcie Bloom Fellowship. Her short films have premiered at Clermont-Ferrand, Tribeca, and the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at Cannes. She earned her MFA from NYU Tisch Grad Film with a PDS Fellowship, and her BA from Dartmouth with a Senior Fellowship.