The Flight of the Stork

From the very first shot—when Soumaya Hidalgo Djahdou bursts into laughter as co-director Berta Vicente Salas films her—it’s clear that this joint debut is deeply personal. Soumaya grew up in Barcelona, and the emotional distance between her and her mother, who is originally from Algeria, often feels vast. That tension is evident in their somewhat prickly conversation about praying and Ramadan. Things shift, however, when Soumaya decides to visit her grandmother in Algeria.

Soumaya quickly becomes part of this unfamiliar family, where praying is as much part of life as using a smartphone. The seemingly off-the-cuff assortment of domestic moments, conversations with her grandmother, and games with her second cousins is interwoven with old home movies and video calls. We see trust growing, including between Soumaya and her mother.

This simple account of a family visit expands into something much more: a harmonious whole that interweaves humor, thoughtful introspection, and intimate confession. A reflection on migration, parenthood, and three generations of women; and on bridging cultures and traditions.