Dreams (Sex Love) 2024

Seventeen-year-old Johanne Ella Øverbye is a secondary school student in Oslo who lives with her mother, Ane Dahl Torp Kristin, and is close to her grandmother Anne Marit Jacobsen, a published author. After reading a novel about a romantic affair between a student and a teacher, Johanne develops an intense crush on her French teacher, Selome Emnetu Johanna. The two begin spending time together outside of school, as Selome Emnetu Johanna teaches Johanne how to knit at her apartment, and Johanne’s infatuation grows as she frequently fantasizes about Johanna reciprocating her feelings.

To cope with her overwhelming emotions, Johanne writes a nearly 200-page autobiographical manuscript detailing her longing, physical desires, and an alleged intimate encounter with Johanna. Seeking an outlet, Johanne shares the manuscript with Karin. Karin is deeply impressed by the manuscript’s literary merit and, going against Johanne’s wishes, shows it to Kristin. Kristin is shocked by the explicit content and becomes deeply concerned that Johanna has abused her position and engaged in inappropriate conduct with her daughter.

The manuscript creates tension within the family. Karin considers the text a work of art with genuine potential for publication, and reading it prompts both older women to reflect on their own past relationships and unfulfilled desires. Kristin, however, remains focused on the reality of the situation. She directly confronts Johanna, asking her if the physical events described in the manuscript actually occurred. Johanna refuses to give a clear answer, leaving her mother and grandmother unsure of how much of the text is reality and how much is fabricated fantasy.

One afternoon, Johanne is visiting Johanna’s apartment when the doorbell rings. The visitor is an older woman named Frøydis, an art student at the academy who is also receiving knitting help from Johanna. Noticing that Frøydis is explicitly invited and sensing a more mature, peer-like dynamic between the two older women, Johanne feels out of place and promptly leaves the apartment.

Sometimes later, Johanne attends an appointment at a psychiatrist’s office. While at the clinic, she unexpectedly encounters Frøydis. The two women strike up a conversation, leaving the building together, and walk off to get a coffee.