The Sand Castle

Nabil arranges a dangerous sea crossing for his family, hoping for a better life in Greece. They travel by boat from Turkey toward Greece, relying on shady organizers and false promises. The voyage ends in disaster when the boat capsizes in open water, with dozens of migrants drowning, and a radio report frames the incident as part of a larger geopolitical conflict.

With no help in sight, Jana retreats into a fantasy world where their lifeboat becomes a Castle on a deserted island with a lighthouse. The real world remains harsh as the family waits for rescue while the imagined island provides a fragile refuge. Jana clings to this sanctuary to endure the uncertainty and fear.

In Jana's backstory, Yara dies in a school bombing, an event that haunts Jana throughout the film. Jana witnesses the killing and carries that guilt with her as memories resurface in the lifeboat. The loss marks the emotional stakes of the family's displacement.

A red shoe surfaces as a haunting symbol of Yara's death and the family’s past. Nabil recalls the shoe when diving for food, suggesting memory and guilt haunt him even amid peril. Jana later carries that symbol to the lighthouse, linking memory with hope.

Nabil struggles to steer the lifeboat while tending the light and the generator. He sustains a leg wound, and the weight of past choices darkens his outlook. The family's survival hinges on their ability to navigate toward safety despite pain and fatigue.

Yasmine takes over steering and keeps the family alive, but with dwindling supplies she grows weaker and eventually starves. The loss of a parent intensifies Jana's reliance on imagination to endure the ordeal. The sea continues to close in around their fragile shelter.

After the parents' decline, Adam becomes more protective of Jana, strengthening their bond. He may hear a voice on the radio or signals suggesting rescue might be near, fueling a fragile hope. The siblings cling to the possibility of arrival as their islandlike journey continues.

Jana discovers a yellow sheet printed with 'Rabbit,' hinting the improvised vessel belongs to the same company as the emblem. The symbol anchors her memory of home and adds a concrete detail to the Rabbits Island allegory. The discovery links the dream-world island to the real world of their travel.

Jana maintains the generator and guards for a distant light on the horizon. The lighthouse image persists as a beacon of hope even as the water closes in around their sandcastle sanctuary. This moment marks the peak of her struggle to outlast despair through imagination.

A rescue ship arrives and the crew appears in hazmat suits, signaling a post-pandemic era intersecting their crisis. The authorities pull Adam from the water, suggesting Jana's fate remains unresolved. The scene emphasizes the tension between humanitarian rescue and political urgency.

Adam is saved by the authorities, offering a note of relief amid the tragedy. Jana's fate is left unseen by the rescuers, implying ambiguity about her survival. The film leaves room for interpretation, focusing on memory, resilience, and the costs of displacement.

The story is set against real-world events in February 2020, when Turkey encouraged migrants to cross into Greece, highlighting geopolitical factors shaping their peril. The film uses this backdrop to critique how nations respond to refugees. The characters’ struggles symbolize the human costs of such political games.

As the lifeboat sinks beneath the waves, Jana's Rabbits Island dissolves into memory, leaving only the red shoe and the lighthouse as symbols. The film implies Jana may have died and the world keeps moving, inviting reflection on resilience and the power of imagination. The ending underscores how personal memory can outlive physical survival.