Queen at Sea

Dir: Lance Hammer, UK, 2026, Drama.
Juliette Binoche, Tom Courtenay, Anna Calder-Marshall.
Winner of 3 Silver Bears at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival.
“This fearless, absolutely captivating feature digs into one of the most difficult aspects of dementia, and explores it in an empathetic yet forensic fashion. The film follows Juliette Binoche’s academic Amanda whose elderly mother Leslie is living with advanced dementia. At the outset, Amanda walks in on her stepfather Martin having sex with Leslie, despite him previously being warned by his wife’s GP that she is no longer capable of consent. Martin, who is a gentle and loving husband otherwise, is completely committed to caring for his wife but is struggling to do so safely. Trying to wake Martin up to the situation, Amanda calls the police, but the decision backfires and social services get involved too. We see how Amanda’s entanglement in this highly stressful situation impacts on her career and home life, including her ability to look out for her teenage daughter Sara… Hammer’s intelligent and extremely sensitive script considers every conceivable angle of this awful predicament and the performances are quite simply astonishing. Calder-Marshall and Courtenay shared the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance at this year’s Berlinale… [and] Binoche is rivetingly conflicted at the centre… The film elevates a fairly grim, real-world issue to something worthy of big-screen scrutiny, holding our interest and seeking to enhance understanding, without ever telling us what to think. This is what cinema should do.” – Emma Simmonds, The List

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 121 min

Rating: 14A