Late 1990s, Kosovo... Oppression from the Serbian administration in Pristina is mounting. With the horrors of the Bosnian War a few years earlier and the Srebrenica genocide still fresh in memory, the specter of war and massacre looms large. For Dua, who is navigating the threshold of adolescence, there are two outlets for her fear and anger: music and judo, a sport she has recently become fascinated with. The raw courage of Maki, with whom she attends judo classes, quickly rubs off on Dua, inspiring the two friends to defy the world around them.

Drawing on her own early teenage experiences, director Blerta Basholli tells the story of the Kosovo War not through sprawling battlefields or historical turning points, but through the emotional and physical metamorphoses experienced by a teenage girl. The director illustrates how violence engulfs individual lives through the rebellious spirit of a coming-of-age story. 

Cannes 2026

SACD Award