The Heart is a Muscle

South Africa's Official Submission to Best International Feature Film category for #Oscars2026

Directed by Imran Hamdulay #Berlinale2025 Panorama

Check complete list of #Oscars2026 submitted films at MovieOn here.
To check list of films in 2025 Berlinale go here.

Synopsis
Ryan is a loving father in his mid-30s. He and his wife Laila have their hands full on their son Jude’s fifth birthday: Ryan’s close friends and their families have come over for a barbecue. The children are excited, the adults chatting animatedly, the place is filled with laughter. But this fun day is abruptly cut short when Jude suddenly goes missing. Panic spreads and a frantic search begins. When Ryan hears that Jude has been spotted in an area controlled by gangs, he drives off to that neighbourhood and beats up a man who, it later transpires, has nothing to do with the disappearance. Shortly afterwards, Jude is found: he had been hiding nearby as a prank. But the events have upset the equilibrium among the group of friends. An argument breaks out and secrets from Ryan’s past emerge. Later, the man whom Ryan beat up arrives and demands money. Also the father of a five-year-old child, he used to know Ryan when they were both teenagers...

Trailer



Poster