A Flower is Not a Flower

Ana, an 11-year-old girl is abandoned by her parents in a Romanian orphanage for “irrecoverable” children. In this communist institution, children are treated like stacks of meat. Against the disturbing backdrop, Ana’s sensibility helps her see things with a gentle, innocent twist. She finds shelter with the orphanage bully, Costea. Their child-like love is full of uncertain moments – an emotional roller coaster inside a terrible system.

Unable to endure the system’s torture, she runs away with Costea. They end up living under ground, together with the self-proclaimed “king of the sewers”, Van Damme. For Ana, the sewers are as terrible as the orphanage when Van Damme wants to sell her for money without any opposition from Costea.

To find her true freedom and be a regular child, she runs away to the seaside. Here, she enjoys the cold water and soft sand in her solitude but as changed person.