A parole officer trained in clinical precision maintains strict control over her life, body, and emotions. When Lilian is summoned back to Sofia to resolve the death of a father she barely knew, she expects a brief administrative detour. As institutions and time conspire against her, Lilian is forced into proximity with grief, flesh, and desire she has long anesthetized.

Drawn into an uneasy closeness with a neighbor whose practice of Shibari introduces controlled vulnerability, Lilian enters a space where intimacy is negotiated and contained. Desire comes without comfort. Connection without reassurance. As her sexual sobriety breaks, Lilian confronts the limits of her authority.

Ralitza Petrova, born in 1976, studied film and video art at the University of the Arts London and fiction directing at the UK’s National Film and Television School (NFTS). Her short films have earned wide acclaim at Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, and Toronto. In 2016, her debut feature GODLESS premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, where it won the “Golden Leopard” for Best Film, followed by 27 further awards. Her sophomore feature, LUST, premiered at the Berlinale in the “Forum” section.

Filmography (selection): 2007 ROTTEN APPLE (short film), 2016 GODLESS, 2019 BETTER NATURE (short film), 2026 LUST

Awards: Award for Best Director (Sofia International Film Festival, Bulgaria 2026), Jury Prize (Bulgarian Film Academy Awards, Sofia 2026)