Winner of the Teddy Jury Award at the 2025 Berlinale, If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart Into Your Mouth and Smile beautifully meets the present moment with its novel coming-of-age story. Written and directed by Marie Luise Lehner, the debut feature centers on Anna (newcomer Siena Popović), a 12 year old who lives with her deaf single mother, Isolde (Mariya Menner) in Vienna.

When she starts high school, Anna feels ashamed of the ways her world differs from that of her well-off peers. However, as Anna’s relationships deepen and her struggles grow more complicated, the teen learns to use her voice. Anchored by a poignant parent-child bond, the award-winning film is also effortlessly populated by queer people, including a character played by Daniel Sea (The L Word). Most crucially, Lehner’s debut is told through a refreshing queer lens that rearranges misplaced shame into a deeply felt sense of pride.