Leila and Sahand are English teachers in Iran. They each have their own marriages, but they also have a child together. Their relationship is illegal, so they decide to flee the country and cross the border into Turkey with their 4-year-old son Mani. It would be impossible for them to get divorced and remarried in Iran, and adultery is even punishable by death. We can follow their story through an intimate, 5-year-long close-up, as they overcome the twists and turns of Iranian and European laws in their desire to be together.

According to Belgian UN Agency data, there are currently 4.1 million refugees living in Turkey; of them 3.7 million are Syrian, and some 400,000 are from other nations. Turkey is therefore the nation that has taken in more refugees than any other country in the world. Director Eva Mulvad wanted to make a film about people in whose situation we could also see ourselves. “I have a lot in common with Leila and Sahand. I have a son and a small family unit of three, and, like them, I’ve watched Ingmar Bergman films. It’s self-evident that refugees are just as varied amongst themselves as other humans.”