Welcome to the Azores Islands, just West of Portugal, where you can take in the beautiful scenery with mother and daughter Lela (Amira Casar) and June (Ayden Mayeri). Lilian T. Mehrel’s dramedy Honeyjoon follows June and her Persian-exiled mother who are vacationing in the Azores for a grief anniversary after the passing of June’s father and Lela’s husband a year ago from cancer.
The favorite memory of June’s father (Tomás Furtado de Mel), who’s only referred to as Dad and seen in flashbacks, was of the islands when he visited years ago, and he never got to bring Lela and June there. So while it’s a somber reason celebrating the anniversary of his death, their visit becomes a journey of reflecting on the past, discovering their womanhood and realizing their freedom.
Honeyjoon starts off a little slow, but picks up when they meet attractive local tour guide João (José Condessa) who shows them around the island, and at one point he even takes them to meet his grandmother. Comedic scenes ensue on the road, like how June earlier told Lena not to talk about Iran, and the first thing Lena talks about to João after he asks her where she’s from is Iran and the revolution. João’s grandmother is funny as well, telling June to keep the shawl because she dresses like a slut.
June coming to appreciate her body is one of the themes that comes up later. Women’s rights is also a prevailing theme, first shown when June shows Lela a video of Iranian dancers dancing without their veils outside, and later learning they were arrested. Lela is constantly reminded of the freedom she has now, with June telling her in an emotional scene, “Can’t we just enjoy being alive.”
Amira Casar gives a nuanced performance as Lena, dealing with losing a husband, and a revolution in the country she’s exiled from. Casar previously played Elio’s (Timothée Chalamet) mother Annella in Luca Guadagnino’s Academy Award-winning Call Me By Your Name, and Anne Frank’s mother Edith in Joan Rater and Tony Phelan’s award-winning National Geographic limited series A Small Light.
Director and writer Lilian T. Mehrel won the 2024 Tribeca AT&T Untold Stories Award for Honeyjoon and her film premiered at Tribeca Festival in 2025. Honeyjoon also won Best Narrative Feature at El Dorado (Arkansas), Best Narrative and the Audience Award at Spokane International (Washington), and Best US Feature at Three Rivers (Pennsylvania) film festivals, and other Audience Awards at Mill Valley (California) and New Hampshire film festivals. Recommended.
Why should public libraries add Honeyjoon to their film collection?
Honeyjoon is an enjoyable escape for audiences looking for beautiful views on an island, while connecting with an emotional mother-daughter story. Those who have lost loved ones will especially find meaning in Lela and June’s journey after the passing of their husband/father. The issues of women’s rights and body positivity are also strong themes that would be particularly meaningful to women audiences.
What kind of film series would Lilian T. Mehrel’s comedy-drama fit in to?
Honeyjoon would fit in a film series focusing on travel to exotic or international locations, mother-daughter relationships, and films dealing with women’s issues, including aging, romance and acceptance. Films that could be programmed along with Honeyjoon include Audrey Wells’ Under the Tuscan Sun, Ryan Murphy’s Eat Pray Love, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Lost Daughter, John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Richard Linklater’s Where'd you go, Bernadette?, Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, and Wayne Wang’s Anywhere But Here.
Honeyjoon Trailer
Enjoyed this review? Subscribe to Video Librarian today for access to over 40,000 pages of film resources tailored for librarians, educators, and non-theatrical audiences.