Hanami (film)

Hanami is a 2024 drama film co-writtten and directed by Denise Fernandes in her directorial debut.^[1] A co-production between Switzerland, Portugal and Cape Verde, the film centres on the coming-of-age of Nana (Dailma Mendes in childhood, Sanaya Andrade in adolescence), a young girl who was left behind in Cape Verde when her mother Nia (Alice da Luz) left for a better life in another country, centring on both her childhood in a community of women who take care of her needs and her reunion with her mother as a teenager.^[2]

Hanami
Promotional release poster
Directed by	Denise Fernandes
Screenplay by	Denise Fernandes Telmo Churro
Produced by	Eugenia Mumenthaler David Epiney Luís Urbano Sandro Aguilar
Starring	Dailma Mendes Sanaya Andrade Alice da Luz
Cinematography	Alana Mejía Gonzalez
Edited by	Selin Dettwiler
Music by	Rahel Zimmermann
Production companies	Alina Film O Som e a Fúria Ventura Film
Release date	14 August 2024 (2024-08-14) (Locarno)
Running time	96 minutes
Countries	Switzerland Portugal Cape Verde
Languages	Cape Verdean Creole Japanese French English

Distribution

The film premiered in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente at the 77th Locarno Film Festival.^[1] It was subsequently screened in the Vanguard competition at the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival, where it received an honorable mention for the Vanguard Award.^[3] It was also screened in the First Feature competition at the 2024 BFI London Film Festival.^[4]

In 2025, the film appeared at the New Horizons Film Festival in Wrocław in the "Smart7" section.^[5]