Jakob Carl Sauer

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?

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?