June Butler reviews Leonardo Oliveira’s short film Sunflower, which follows the journey of Maylla, an international student in Ireland. 

Director Leonardo Oliveira has produced a mesmerising piece of work with his evocative debut Sunflower. Filmed in Dublin, it narrates the story of Maylla, a young Brazilian who came to Ireland with dreams of a new life, to a country she knew nothing of. A place where she hoped to work, study, learn English, and make friends. 

Tragically, Maylla’s circumstances changed for the worse, when, at the beginning of the Covid19 pandemic, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Family and friends banded together to help the young woman, and Maylla’s mother came from Brazil to support her daughter in her epic battle. Maylla went through gruelling cancer treatment as the invasive disease crept and crept without respite. The things we hold as commonplace,  aspects of physicality that are taken for granted, reversed and metamorphosed into invading enemies. It grew into an eviscerating and exhausting fight to stay alive, almost as if Maylla’s body had become her foe. Every breath was agony. Sleeping through a relentless veil of pain was impossible. Maylla’s hair fell out. Her nails peeled off. Waking up to a daily expectation of well-being was gone and replaced with shallow breaths, a body-freezing numbness and fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of treatment. Fear of dying. A tiptoeing spectre that clung on, hiding behind corners and refusing to leave.  

After invasive surgery, Maylla briefly went into remission. Then the cancer came back and when it did, she had to make some very tough decisions. At this point, Maylla’s immigrant status in Ireland was in doubt – she had two choices, stay in Ireland, argue against deportation and hope to remain in the country, or be transported to Brazil while in the middle of critical treatment, facing the considerable stress of sourcing hospital stays directly upon her return. Despite Maylla’s strong desire to remain in Ireland, she felt it was better for her to return to Brazil and she resumed cancer treatment once back in her native land.   

What is so heat-warming to witness is Maylla’s infectious joy and indomitable spirit throughout every single second in this beautiful film. Each moment in her cancer journey has been looked square in the eye, unyielding and unafraid of combat. This is not a woman to back down from a confrontation. There are truly unpleasant, gritty realities when dealing with serious illness and with round after round of chemotherapy, Maylla emerges, uplifted, resolute and always smiling. 

Cancer is a horrific disease that does not discriminate in who it targets – man, woman, child, sisters, daughters, mothers, husbands, sons and fathers. No one can ever state with certainty that it will bypass and leave them immune. Cancer is importune, persistent and absolutely brutal. It is fought by the human body as an army of one – but behind that person stands multitudes of believers, thousands of hopers, millions of supporters. In the air that we breathe, we send solace and endless, unconditional love. 

Maylla is me. Maylla is you. Maylla is all of us. 

Sunflower screened at the Dublin International Short Film and Music Festival on 4th October 2024.

 

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