IFA presents: Queen at Sea

In this layered family drama, Amanda travels to London, where the health of her elderly mother, Leslie, is rapidly deteriorating. Due to advanced dementia, Leslie can no longer communicate or make decisions for herself. A shocking confrontation between Amanda and her stepfather, Martin, strains their relationship and drives an ever-widening wedge between them; after all, who has the right—Amanda, her stepfather, or an institution—to decide Leslie’s fate now that she can no longer speak for herself? As both Amanda and Martin attempt to protect her based on their own convictions, the conflict over intimacy, mental capacity, and autonomy escalates. The heart-wrenching Queen at Sea demonstrates how good intentions can lead to devastating outcomes in a moral dilemma that leaves a profound impression.

Queen at Sea premiered earlier this year in the main competition of the 76th Berlinale, where it received the Silver Bear Jury Prize, and Tom Courtenay and Anna Calder-Marshall jointly won the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance. It is director Lance Hammer’s first film since his directorial debut, Ballast (2008), eighteen years ago.

This screening is presented in collaboration with the Internationaal Filmfestival Assen (IFA), one of the oldest film festival in Europe with an intersectional feminist tradition. IFA puts female film makers in the spotlight and focuses on films that challenge current perspectives on gender, sex and power. 

After the screening on Saturday, IFA head of programming Hil van der Wal will interview dr. Sarah Janus, senior researcher dementia care at the UMCG. With the film in mind they will discuss questions about sexuality, autonomy and consent regarding people who suffer from dementia. This aftertalk will be in Dutch.