Tristán López

A tragedy brings a mother, daughter, and teenage boy together. Struggling with blame and forgiveness, the unlikely trio take a trip to Tenerife for a family holiday that never happened. Under the glow of the sun, past and present quietly start to overlap.

Germany, late 90s: Johanna is an intern at a local newspaper and is struggling with the death of her grandmother. In addition to her grief, she is burdened by conflict with her family after she angrily confronts her uncle, who is only interested in his inheritance, at the funeral. She seeks balance by throwing herself headlong into her work. In the process, she comes across an old photograph of a concentration camp guard named Anneliese Deckert. With this find, she hopes to advance her journalistic career: Johanna tracks down the now 80-year-old, but does not expect to meet her entire family on the spot, nor does she expect the fuss the photo causes.

A group of young people spend the evening in the clubhouse. One of them is Toni, who, as usual, keeps to the background. In the stuffy air of the wood-panelled room they drink, gossip and embarrass each other, while pop songs play in the background. Business as usual. As the night goes on, Toni watches an older couple dancing and starts to wonder what he really wants.

Laura Santos returns to her parents’ gorgeous hotel in Barcelona, accompanied by her son Pedro, whom she hopes to set back on the right path. After the initial greetings, Laura is at odds with her mother Isabel once again. The longtime hotel manager accuses her daughter of selfishly going her own way years ago instead of committing herself to the family business. Today, the hotel is in poor shape with bleak prospects.