Perla, a gifted artist with an equally talented musical daughter, lives a comfortable life in Vienna in the early 1980s. Together with Julia and her new partner Josef, she builds a quiet existence and seems to have left the traumas of her youth in communist Czechoslovakia behind her. But when Julia’s father unexpectedly contacts her to tell her that he is seriously ill, Perla decides to return to her homeland.

What starts as a farewell grows into a confrontational journey through old wounds and unprocessed memories. As Perla becomes increasingly entangled in her past, the bond with her daughter threatens to break. Can she break free from what was, or will she lose herself again?

Perla is a layered and deeply human portrait of identity, motherhood and the psychological toll of life in diaspora. Director Alexandra Makarová brings to life an intimate family story, inspired by her own roots and by resilient women who are finding their way in a patriarchal world. Through strong performances and atmospheric images, she makes the impact of the past palpable in the present — a topical story in a time where displacement and intergenerational trauma are still playing a role.

Every Tuesday and Saturday you can enjoy one of the newest films with English subtitles.