‘I Plant My Hand in the Garden’ Trailer Reveals Venice Days Drama About Love, Family and Identity

The first trailer for I Plant My Hand in the Garden has arrived, offering audiences a closer look at an intimate new drama about love, family, identity and the complicated meaning of parenthood.

Hoda Taheri and Boris Hadžija directed and co-wrote the film, which will premiere in the competition section of Venice Days, also known as Giornate degli Autori, at the 2026 Venice International Film Festival on September 3.

At the center of the story are Hoda and Boris, a couple who are deeply in love and expecting a child. They decide to marry and build a family together. However, as their wedding approaches, they begin to question what it truly means to become a family.

Hoda, an Iranian refugee living in Berlin, and Boris, a queer man from Serbia, bring very different backgrounds to their relationship. As they prepare for marriage and parenthood, they face bureaucratic hurdles, family expectations and complicated personal histories.

The film examines how institutions, traditions and social expectations influence ideas about gender, nationality, love and parenthood. It also asks whether two people can create their own definition of family despite the pressures surrounding them.

The film draws heavily from the lives of its creators. Taheri and Hadžija play the central characters using their real first names, while members of their families also appear on screen.

That approach allows the filmmakers to blur the line between fiction and reality while exploring deeply personal questions about relationships, family and identity.

Before making their feature debut, Taheri and Hadžija collaborated on a trilogy of short films that premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. They later reunited for another short that premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.

I Plant My Hand in the Garden marks their first feature-length project together.

Rather than presenting family as a fixed idea, the film explores how people create families and how outside forces can influence those choices.

Hoda and Boris must confront inherited ideas about marriage, masculinity and motherhood while dealing with the practical realities of immigration and legal identity. Their journey connects their personal experiences with broader issues surrounding migration, queer identity and social expectations.

The cast features Taheri and Hadžija alongside members of their families. Lithuanian filmmaker Vytautas Katkus serves as cinematographer.

The film is a Germany-Serbia-U.S. co-production, with Vienna-based Square Eyes handling international sales.

I Plant My Hand in the Garden will premiere in the Venice Days competition on September 3, 2026, as part of the 2026 Venice International Film Festival.

With its autobiographical approach and focus on love, identity, migration and parenthood, the film brings a deeply personal perspective to this year’s Venice Days lineup.