Alfredo Chiarappa

Hussein learnt to breakdance from a soldier in Iraq as a kid, then chased his American Dream to NYC. Now a choreographer, he mistakes a shot at success for a breakthrough and loses everything, but will do whatever it takes to keep dreaming.

It is the early afternoon of a summer day in the 1990s. While their parents are asleep, Lotti and Malibù (nicknames the sisters use for each other) decide to sneak out to a local bar—a spot frequented by the boy they both have a crush on. Puca, the youngest, insists on coming along, threatening to wake their parents with her screaming if they refuse. The three girls set off; as they pass the beach, Puca wanders toward the water’s edge and claims to have seen a mermaid. Once at the bar, the older sisters—preoccupied with their adolescent moods—lose sight of Puca. A search ensues, leading to a confrontation that clears the air between them, followed by a fleeting glimpse of the mermaid diving and vanishing beneath the waves; that image makes them realize their childhood is gone forever. The unexpected happens when they return home to alert their parents…

23-year-old Brian, his father Toro and his uncle Mio, identical twins but opposite role models, feel the weight of their extended family’s survival on their shoulders, as well as that of Cuba’s future: they are the ones who stay.