Indie Director Mehrel Races to Premiere 'Honeyjoon' at Tribeca Festival Lisboa

In November 2025, indie director Lilian T. Mehrel is preparing to premiere her dark comedy 'Honeyjoon' at the Tribeca Festival Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal. The film, which Mehrel developed and shot in just one year after winning the Tribeca pitch competition in 2024, follows a grieving mother and daughter on a trip to the Azores.

Mehrel's feature debut centers on Kurdish-Persian Lela, played by Amira Casar, and her American daughter June, portrayed by Ayden Mayeri. The pair travel to the romantic Portuguese islands to mark the one-year anniversary of a major loss, but their differing approaches to grief create tension. While Lela wants to confront her pain, June seeks to embrace life and pleasure once again.

The film's emotional roller coaster takes an unexpected turn when the mother and daughter cross paths with a local tour guide, João, played by Portuguese actor José Condessa. As the three navigate the Azores together, Lela and June ultimately find a way to connect and rediscover a will to live.

Mehrel, who won Tribeca's Untold Stories pitch competition in 2024, faced a tight deadline to bring 'Honeyjoon' to life. With just months to assemble her cast and crew, the director says the entire team "put their talent, their hard work and their love into this film." Now, she's eager to share the final product with audiences in Portugal, where the movie was shot.