José Condessa, Ayden Mayeri, Lilian T. Mehrel and Andreia Nunes at 'Honeyjoon's' Tribeca Festival premiere in June in New York. José Condessa, Ayden Mayeri, Lilian T. Mehrel and Andreia Nunes attend "Honeyjoon" premiere at Tribeca Festival on June 07, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for AT&T) Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Director Lilian T. Mehrel tells viewers to expect a thrill ride with twists and turns for Honeyjoon, a dark comedy about a grieving mother and daughter holidaying in the romantic Azores. "What I love to do is take audiences on a roller coaster ride of laughter and emotion," Mehrel, who premiered Honeyjoon at the U.S. Tribeca Festival and is now set for a European premiere for her film at Tribeca Festival Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal, told The Hollywood Reporter. That metaphor of a thrill ride with emotional highs and lows is apt for the indie movie about Kurdish-Persian Lela, played by Call Me By Your Name actress Amira Casar and her American daughter June (Ayden Mayeri) as their Portugal trip marks the one-year anniversary of a major loss and Mehrel has her leads forever at odds over how to grieve. Related Stories TV Netflix Should Bring 'Emily in Paris' to Lisbon, Says Mayor: "They Can Contact Me" Movies Daisy Edgar-Jones, Emilia Jones to Star in Irish Period Thriller for 'Kneecap' Director Rich Peppiatt "To me, the film is connected to not just the waves of grief, but grief plus life. I see the two characters of Lela and June like the yin-yang. Lela is on the dark side, and June is on the light side in their approach to grief. Lela wants to connect through her pain, whether it's grief for her husband or for the country she lost. Meanwhile, June is running towards the light, trying to feel alive again and feel pleasure," Mehrel explains. Eventually, as the mother and daughter link up with a sexy, yet philosophical local tour guide João, played by Portuguese star José Condessa, Lela and June find one another and a will to embrace life once again. And Honeyjoon viewers on the film festival circuit have happily ridden Mehrel's emotional roller coaster because of what she calls "the shared inside joke of being human" in her feature debut. "You feel hundreds of people in the audience laugh or then get quiet together and then get emotional or cry. It's indescribable," she adds. Ultimately, Mehrel, in creating a dark comedy about a daughter running to pleasure and a mother embracing her pain, has allowed the writer and director to explore the range of human emotions behind grief. "This film is not saying there's a right way [to grieve]. It's saying this is what it feels like to be alive," she explains. Both personally and professionally, Mehrel has been on a roller coaster of another kind with Honeyjoon after she won Tribeca's Untold Stories pitch competition in 2024, which included $1 million to make her dark comedy. But one condition for her win left Mehrel's stomach in her mouth as she and her Portuguese producer, Andreia Nunes, had to make Honeyjoon in one year, in time to be considered for a world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. "I won, and it was just me, my script and a producer, and everything else had to be found within months so I could shoot the movie in time to make our deadline," the director recalled. That was followed by a whirlwind casting of Mayeri, Casar and Condessa for her leads and lining up a production crew and locations in the Azores. "Everybody really came together and put their talent, their hard work and their love into this film. And I'm extra excited to share the film in Portugal and to connect with everyone because it was shot there and to show them the humanness of what the story is really about," Mehrel insists. Honeyjoon was developed at the TorinoFilmLab's ComedyLab and Cine Qua Non Storylines Lab. The U.S.-Portugal co-production is produced by Nunes with Wonder Maria. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Kneecap Daisy Edgar-Jones, Emilia Jones to Star in Irish Period Thriller for 'Kneecap' Director Rich Peppiatt Heat Vision Keanu Reeves, Tim Miller Teaming Up for Unique Sci-Fi Movie 'Shiver' (Exclusive) Tribeca Jane Rosenthal Talks Tribeca Festival Lisboa, New CEO and NY Fest's 25th Edition in 2026 The Beatles Mia McKenna-Bruce, Anna Sawai, Aimee Lou Wood Join Saoirse Ronan in Sam Mendes' Beatles Biopics Zoey Deutch After Its Buzzy 'Emilia Pérez' Moment, the American French Film Festival Keeps Building Tribeca Festival 'Dreams' Director Michel Franco Has No Interest in "Comfort Cinema" Kneecap Daisy Edgar-Jones, Emilia Jones to Star in Irish Period Thriller for 'Kneecap' Director Rich Peppiatt Heat Vision Keanu Reeves, Tim Miller Teaming Up for Unique Sci-Fi Movie 'Shiver' (Exclusive) Tribeca J