A mother and her teen daughter flow in and out of harmony on a road trip charting a momentous turning point in their lives.
Driving down the redwoods-lined US-101, Juliana—a South American immigrant single mother—can’t seem to help bickering with Luz, her 17-year-old daughter. When they stop to spend the night at an old friend’s house (who may have once been more than a friend…), it becomes apparent that the pair is on the way to drop Luz off at college—and lurking behind their clashes is a web of complex emotions. An outsider’s perspective and some musical therapy bring a shift in dynamics, allowing mother and daughter to finally find harmony before their inevitable, bittersweet farewell.
Florencia Manóvil is a queer Latina writer-director whose work expresses a yearning to evolve societal paradigms, through an ecofeminist lens. Born in Buenos Aires, Manóvil moved to the U.S. to study film at Emerson College on an Honors scholarship. A Bay Area resident since 2007, a local paper named her “Best East Bay Filmmaker” for her web series DYKE CENTRAL, lauded by press and fans for its groundbreaking representation of diverse LGBTQ characters.
Manóvil is a current SFFILM Sound and Cinema fellow, and was a 2024 SFFILM FilmHouse resident. She’s a two-time recipient of the Frameline Completion Fund, and her films have screened at festivals around the world, including Outfest, Newfest, Cine Las Américas, and Iris Prize. Her new short film, Berkeley Film Foundation grant recipient CAMINO, is in post-production. Manóvil is procuring financing for QUEERLY BELOVED, an ensemble wedding feature (Stowe Story Labs 2024 selection) about the power and magic of queer community; and developing TWELVE, a thrutopian limited series (2024 Writing Climate Pitchfest). She’s a member of Film Fatales and active in her local film community. She’s also an Intimacy Coordinator and devoted parent to an impressive teen.
Premiere Available
SFFILM Sound and Cinema Fellowship
Berkeley Film Foundation Short Film Grant Recipient
Actor - Natalia Dominguez
Actor - Kayen Manovil
Cinematographer - Andrés Gallegos
