December 6, 2026 at 2:30:00 PM
AFS Cinema
Honeyjoon
USA, Portugal | Narrative Feature
2026 | 75 mins | English
WINNER: Tribeca AT&T Untold Stories Award
WINNER: SFFilm Rainin Award
WINNER: Audience Award, Top 3 – 2025 Tribeca Festival
A surprisingly sexy, darkly funny, emotional rollercoaster.
In this light-and-dark comedy, June and her Persian-British mother Lela travel to the romantic Azores islands for a grief anniversary, with contrasting ways of coping. A hot philosophical surfer takes them on a tour as we surf the waves of life, loss, flirting… an unforgettable ride.
In her award-winning debut feature, director Lilian T. Mehrel brilliantly transforms grief, desire, and human connection into something electric, introducing a visionary new voice.
Restoration Process
About the Artist
About the Filmmaker:
Lilian T. Mehrel is an award-winning writer & director with a visionary sense of feeling and humor.
She is the winner of the biggest film production prize in the world for her debut feature, Honeyjoon, which premiered at Tribeca and 50 festivals, winning the Tribeca AT&T Untold Stories Award and multiple audience and jury awards. It is now in theaters with Utopia’s Circle Collective for 3 months and counting, an indie theatrical phenomenon. Lilian’s films have also screened at Clermont-Ferrand and the AmPav Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at Cannes. She was selected for the SFFILM Rainin Grant, TorinoFilmLab ComedyLab, Film Independent Episodic Lab, Sloan Award, Nancy Malone Directing Award, Geri Ashur Screenwriting Award, NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship,
CineQuaNonLab, Film Fatales Episodic Directing Shadow Workshop, TFI Labs with YouTube/Google and Warner Media, and the Sony Pictures Classics Marcie Bloom Fellowship. Lilian earned her MFA from NYU Tisch Grad Film with a PDS Fellowship, and her BA from Dartmouth with a Senior Fellowship. She also enjoys hip hop dance.
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About the Moderator:
Faegheh (Fawn) Shirazi, Ph.D. is Emeritus Professor, Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of numerous academic articles in diverse journals and contributor of book chapters and encyclopedia articles. Shirazi is the author of 5 published books: Islamicate Textiles, Brand Islam, Muslim Women in War and Crisis, Velvet Jihad, and The Veil Unveiled.
Shirazi’s research explores popular Islamic religious practices and rituals and their influence on gender identity and discourse in Muslim societies with particular emphasis on Iran, Islamic veiling, material culture, textiles, and clothing. She serves on several national and international editorial boards for academic journals and book publications.
An expressionist painter who works primarily in acrylics, she has participated in several group exhibitions and creates arts and crafts from recycled objects and textiles.
Trailer
For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions.
Credits
Director:
Lilian T. Mehrel
Writer:
Lilian T. Mehrel
Producer(s):
Andreia Nunes
Lilian T. Mehrel
Film Editor:
Ayden Mayeri
Amira Casar
José Condessa
Thank you to our community partners for this screening!
This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
