In Sandra Wollner’s Everytime, presented at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, grief manifests as both a rupture and a wellspring. The film opens with the accidental death of Jessie (Carla Hütermann), a teenage girl who falls while high on MDMA after sneaking out to a rave. The camera captures this tragedy from an artistic distance, eventually shifting to a virtual environment reminiscent of the game Vintage Story.
The narrative then unfolds through the lives of Jessie’s mother Ella (Birgit Minichmayr), younger sister Melli (Lotte Keiling), and boyfriend Lux (Tristán Lopez), depicting their stoic attempts to cope with her absence. They maintain connections to Jessie through digital remnants—home movies, social media interactions, and a haunting encounter with a surveillance drone that illustrates how our memories can be commodified.
As the trio grapples with their grief, they partake in drug-fueled experiences in nature, returning to significant locations from Jessie’s last night. Although the film’s tight structure may render its characters somewhat abstract, this design accentuates a modern sense of numbness—highlighting the persistent and complex emotions of loss, guilt, and the yearning for connection in a disorienting world.
Everytime is a majestic, mysterious exploration of contemporary grief, infused with ambiguity that allows light and emotion to penetrate its otherwise hermetic shell.
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