Rings of life

A child reflects on the loss of her sister three years later

Rings of Life is an experimental documentary centred on Hanna, a young Swedish girl who experienced the sudden loss of her five year old sister, Emma. At just seven years old, Hanna witnessed her sister fall ill and die within the space of a few hours, an event that profoundly altered her understanding of life and death.

Three years after this loss, Hanna speaks with quiet clarity about her memories, her longing, and the love that remains unbroken. Rather than expressing fear, she reflects on death with a calm acceptance, describing how her life changed and how her sister continues to exist through memory. Her voice forms the emotional core of the film, offering an intimate perspective on how a child processes grief and absence.

Hanna’s words are interwoven with evocative imagery, sound, and music, creating a cinematic poem that moves between spoken reflection and visual interpretation. The film does not present death as something terrifying or abstract, but as an integral part of life’s ongoing circle. By combining personal testimony with a carefully constructed sensory landscape, the documentary explores the relationship between loss, resilience, and remembrance.

Through its restrained and poetic approach, Rings of Life offers a deeply human portrayal of childhood grief, focusing on the enduring power of memory and the ways love persists beyond death.