Getting up after a sleepless night, greeting neighbours, going to work, where she spends her days making fortune cookies. This is the life of Donya, an Afghan immigrant who has now made her home in Fremont, USA. Loneliness and insomnia are problems the young woman is trying to address, initially on her own and later with the help of a quirky therapist. It’s unclear whether it’s harder for her to come to terms with her traumatic past or with her current unsettled existence. Will Donya find a solution by hiding a message in one of the thousands of fortune cookies that get sent out? A lightly wistful comedy about a quest of self-discovery that asks whether refugee status is a condition of geographical location or whether it’s a state of mind. It’s also a film about hope coming along when we least expect it.

USA
2023, 91 min

Section: Crystal Globe Competition
Director: Babak Jalali
Screenplay: Carolina Cavalli, Babak Jalali
Dir. of Photography: Laura Valladao
Music: Mahmoud Schricker
Sound: Stefano Gross
Editor: Babak Jalali