Fortuna

In a monastery at the heart of the snow-covered massif of the Swiss Simplon pass, 14-years-old Fortuna folds her hands in prayer, kneeling before a statue of the blessed mother. A photograph of her parents, not seen since the traumatic crossing of the Mediterranean, keeps their memory alive. Like many other refugees, the Ethiopian girl has found shelter with Catholic friars – for the interim, until her residency status is resolved. Lonely and filled with longing to be comforted, Fortuna bears a secret, one which she even keeps from the abbot. With a grand palette of images, from the violently churning sea to the sublimely menacing Alpine peaks, Germinal Roaux paints the portrait of a soul left stranded and attempts to fathom the limits of love. (Berlinale)