In remote Albania, Hana escapes from her destiny of being a wife by invoking a traditional law: taking an oath of eternal virginity to live free as a man. To locals, Hana becomes Mark. Years later, something restless stirs under these men’s clothes. Mark embarks on a transformative voyage to Italy.

Layering vulnerability and stoicism, Alba Rohrwacher is magnetic in Laura Bispuri’s formidable debut. Shedding light on an obscure Albanian ritual where young women surrender their femininity, this decades-spanning family saga muses on gender fluidity and the possibility of personal liberation.