Sandra Wollner is having a pretty thrilling — if not a little exhausting — 2026.

Her third feature film, Everytime, premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in May — her first project to hit the Croisette, which she talked about in depth at the time. “It was quite overwhelming, I have to say,” the Austrian filmmaker laughs to The Hollywood Reporter three months later. “To get this platform and such a big audience — overwhelming in a good way.”

Now, Everytime, screening in competition at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, is venturing into a world beyond Cannes. Led by Birgit Minichmayrhe, the film follows a mother, her young daughter and a teenage boy as they travel to Tenerife in a bid to cope with the tragic death of their eldest daughter and sister. Wollner embraces her knack for surrealism as the piece bends time, past and present blurring. THR critic Jordan Mintzer said the filmmaker is talented at “injecting genuine unease into ordinary events, whether it’s an eerie stroll through the streets of Berlin [or] a text message sent to a deceased person.”

In Sarajevo, Wollner’s partner and one-year-old daughter in tow, she has been paying close attention to the reaction of the locals. “The festival being founded during the siege in 1995, I think that’s very powerful,” she continues to THR. “And you can still feel something of that history here. I felt it yesterday when I had a radio interview. Just from some of the questions, you could get the sense that there might be a different way of approaching trauma or loss here, simply in the way people talked about the film.”

From the Bosnian capital’s National Theatre, Wollner discusses taking Everytime on the festival circuit. She talks about the doors that these festival slots can open for a filmmaker of her calibre, spotlighting grief, blame and memory in her filmography, and why she is staying realistic about the future of European cinema: “What I hope we protect in Europe is the possibility of making films that don’t have to prove their commercial value before they exist.”

How big was it for you to be in Cannes with only your third feature film?

That was, of course, big. I mean, if you’re very pragmatic, it’s just the biggest festival. At least people say so. And it was quite overwhelming, I have to say, to get this platform and such a big audience — overwhelming in a good way. I was already excited that we were invited, and then you don’t really expect anything after that. I certainly didn’t expect such great feedback. 

Wherever you are, it’s still kind of miraculous when you see your film through other people, when you see it with an audience. And it just felt like a very appreciative audience. In the cinema with so many people in Cannes, it was a very emotional experience. Some things I felt for the very first time — because when you’re working on things, you’re working on technical stuff all the time. You still feel the flow, but not the emotion, not after seeing it so many times. But then suddenly you have people behind you gasping or being in shock or just being very silent.

So it’s safe to say you were pleased by the reaction in Cannes.

(Laughs.) I was very pleased with the reaction.

You’re on the festival circuit with Everytime now. We’re in Sarajevo. Is it just as meaningful to be asked to be here?

To be here and then also get invited into the competition, I honestly felt very appreciated. Yesterday, we had our premiere, and what the head programmer Elma Tataragić said about the film and how she connected it to my previous films made me feel an immense appreciation for my work. I very much value that.

But being here with nine other films — honestly, I have not seen anything! Being back at work and being here with a kid, it’s a bit tricky to see anything right now.

You’re with your child?

She’s one, so the last year was quite intense with finishing the film. She’s here with me and my partner, and the festival also made that possible. And they made it possible for our cast to come. Birgit Minichmayr would have loved to come, but she’s on a shoot right now. Everyone was super excited. Lotte Shirin Keiling could come with her parents, and our main actor Tristán López also brought his mom and a friend of his mom. Everyone was like, “Oh my god!”

A family affair!

Yeah, and I’ve never been here. I have some friends who come here regularly and who really love it, and I can totally see why.

A very cool origin story as well.

I mean, the festival being founded during the siege in 1995, I think that’s very powerful, and you can still feel something of that history here. I felt it yesterday when I had a radio interview. Just from some of the questions, you could get the sense that there might be a different way of approaching trauma or loss here, simply in the way people talked about the film. I did feel there was a different perception, at least from what I understood through the translation during the interview. People asked, “Is Everytime a memorial for those we lost?”. Since the film is essentially a family drama, this kind of question doesn’t get asked in Germany or Austria, where I’m from. 

What can mid-tier festivals like Sarajevo, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, San Sebastian do for films like yours?

I haven’t been to too many festivals. My second film did travel, but then Covid happened. My first film started in Hof, a prestigious little festival in Germany, or at least it used to be. For me it opened some doors, particularly with programmers and film critics who saw it there.

At nearly every festival, there is always the feeling that it opens something up — just the fact that other people see your film, some of them really take it in and spread the word about it. And all of these festivals can do that for your film, in ways that might turn out to be very meaningful even many years down the road.

Did you get to talk with people at the premiere here in Sarajevo about how the film resonated?

We had a Q&A. It was more like a Q&A and press conference in one. It was actually quite nice that there were also locals and not just journalists or festival insiders. People seemed to like it — those who stayed for the Q&A at least. I guess there was no one staying to tell me they didn’t like it. (Laughs.) But yeah, I felt the response in general was very appreciative, again.

There’s a lot that comes up in Everytime — in particular grief and blame. What did you find the audience was drawn to?

I feel it’s grief. I mean, we’re talking about the biggest loss that’s imaginable, losing a child. But still, everyone might have experienced a loss of some family member or friend at some point, so they can relate. And like in Cannes, people came up afterwards to tell us about their loss, and perhaps their own version of grief, which is a very strange emotional process that can manifest in so many ways.

I feel that there are people who can genuinely relate to the topic. And then, of course, there are people who love the formal idea of the film, the way it takes you places you might never expect it to. I do feel it has been the same everywhere. It doesn’t differ from festival to festival, so far.

Are those themes something that you want to keep as a running thread through your filmography?

They run through my last three films in a way: memory and imagination. But I think one has to be careful not to get too self-reflective, you know? I did start to write something which is more or less set in prehistoric times, about how ghosts came into the world. A very different setting. Very different. But let‘s see, I need some time. I really have to fall in love with something again to be able to go through with it for five or six years because, in the end, that’s what it’s gonna take.

Are there any Hollywood names that you would love to work with in the future?

I honestly believe that it really depends on the project. I would never be someone to knock on a door just because of a name, even though maybe that’s sometimes smart. But I really try to understand who’s the perfect fit for the part.

It’s hard to make films right now. All over the world, but very much in Europe.

It’s hard, and I feel very privileged that we had luck with the last two films, which didn’t have a lot of money. The first one was just a student project. The second one was my graduation film, but we still got some funding and it worked out. You might say I was lucky, but this kind of cultural funding is something we absolutely have to protect.

I don’t know if it’s so much easier in the U.S., where you get [private] money and you have to be really struggling and bouncing from [financier to financier] all the time. I don’t know whether this is an easier path than in Europe.

Do you feel optimistic about the future of European film?

I don’t know. I have to be realistic. You can see that there is pressure on public funding everywhere. But I don’t think culture is an “added value,” a kind of luxury item. It’s part of how a society understands itself.

What I hope we protect in Europe is the possibility of making films that don’t have to prove their commercial value before they exist. My own films could probably not have been made in a purely market-driven system. And I think losing that would mean losing a certain kind of cinema altogether. 

SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points from the latest episode of Apple TV‘s Ted Lasso, “Richmond’s Got Talent.”

On tonight’s episode of Apple TV’s Ted Lasso, all hell breaks loose during a press conference where a “secret” report created by Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift), a risk management assessment of the Lady Greyhounds, was leaked to the press. Both Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) and Leslie were behind it, leaving Keeley (Juno Temple) standing clueless when asked about said report by the attending media.

All is well behind them the following morning, as trials for new additions to the team kicked off with many interested ladies attending the tryouts. Among them is a Latina, whose name is Maria Rojas, played by Paloma Cinco. Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), who is working the sign-in desk, asks the new character for her name.

He catches the last name and asks instantly, “Rojas, as in Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernádez)?” He is, of course, referring to the A.F.C. Richmond player of Mexican descent, whose catchphrase is “Football is Life.”

She responds, “Yes, he is my brother. He taught me everything I know.”

Beard gives her the No. 14 for the competition, and she moves it along with a huge smile on her face. As she walks away, Beard quietly cheers and writes the word “Striker” next to her name with an exclamation point and many underlines below it. Could their search for a new Lady Greyhound be over just like that? He runs over to tell Ted (Jason Sudeikis) about her, and both are equally excited.

Unfortunately, when she hits the field, it becomes clear that Maria has never played soccer in her life. A fact she confirms later.

“Maria, you said your brother taught you everything he knows?” Beard asks her

She replies, “Sí, cooking, photography, software engineering, you name it. I know it.”

“Well, did he teach you futbol?” Assistant coach Alice Chilton (Tanya Reynolds) asks Maria.

“Nope, it’s my first time,” Maria replied with a cheeky smile.

That was the end of that dream. But Maria’s bright personality and ambition leave Ted with a smile on his face.

Viewers will also enjoy the cute comedy bit, starring Cinco, whose birth name is Paloma Fernández. She is the real-life sister of Cristo Fernández, who played Dani Rojas on the first three seasons of Ted Lasso.

“I love when we do stuff like that. Like how we’ve had Jeremy’s [Swift] wife Mary playing his wife on the show. Whenever we have a love interest on the show, we encourage them to pick someone because they’ll have that natural chemistry,” Sudeikis told Deadline of having Cinco on the show.

He continued, “So to have Cristo’s sister Paloma on the show, who we had all known personally… the two of them are just a joy to be around. And that joy remains with them as individuals. I love that she did it and that she did it with gusto. She was so funny and so sweet.”

Reynolds echoed Sudeikis’ praise for Cinco, “She was so funny!”

Cinco recently spoke with Deadline about joining the Ted Lasso family, whether her soccer skills are better than her character Maria’s, and more below.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The interview below is translated from Spanish to English.

DEADLINE: I was so surprised to see you on Ted Lasso‘s fourth season! How did this come together?

PALOMA CINCO: You know, Cristo and I had the idea to pitch the idea that Dani has a sister. After that, at an Oscars after-party, a member of the press asked Cristo if he would be returning to Ted Lasso for the new fourth season. He said no, but then jokingly added, “Wouldn’t it be cool if his sister was?” From there, we started to process what that would be like. We recorded an audition based on that and sent it along. In our version, Dani’s sister is named Daniela Rojas. She was similar to the character you meet, Maria Rojas, in that she’s equally as positive, energetic, and charismatic, like her brother Dani. There was another version where Daniela was grumpy and dark, the complete opposite of Maria. In our version, she was a good soccer player.

DEADLINE: What are your real-life soccer skills like?

CINCO: The truth is, I have played soccer all my life. I never went pro, but I played a lot growing up with my older brother Cristo. It’s really been such a joy to see how much more attention is being given to women in sports, especially women’s soccer. Maybe I would have considered a pro career had these opportunities been available to me then. I think my soccer skills are good, but I keep it as a hobby. I remember as children, Cristo used to force me to play soccer with him. [Laughs]

DEADLINE: So from tonight’s episode, we see the show went in a different direction. When did you find out you were going to be on the show?

CINCO: Before I heard back, I had been training on my soccer skills, hoping to manifest this opportunity. This was around March or April of last year. I heard in July that the show had already started shooting in Kansas City, but we still had not heard anything. I was starting to think that they might not have been interested in pursuing the idea further. Luckily, I heard from them after that, and they told me about the character they were offering me, and I read the script. I found it to be so funny.

DEADLINE: Based on your original idea, were you willing to make yourself available for the whole season had there been a bigger plan for Maria Rojas in Season 4?

CINCO: I was ready for the opportunity that they would offer me. But yes, if they had wanted me for more episodes, I would’ve happily made myself available. I’m still keeping hope alive. I like the idea that Maria left the tryouts and was inspired to learn how to play soccer, as well as the idea that it’s never too late to learn something new. I like that Maria has learned so many great things from her brother. Who better to teach her how to kick the ball around, right?

DEADLINE: I have no doubt that seeing you on the show will be a moment of pride for Cristo.

CINCO: Being part of the Ted Lasso universe has been something very special to me. Mainly because soccer is a game I grew up playing with my brother. I’ve been emotional about how this is another new experience we have in common. It’s also been special to me because I have focused on my entertainment career for so many years. Yes, as an actress, but also as a producer.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Fernández siblings are the founders of the prodco Espectro MX Films, a passion project supporting many indie projects like their most recent release, the hilarious comedy feature No Translation Required. While Fernández has stepped back from acting as his main gig to follow his dreams as a real-life footballer, now playing with El Paso Locomotive FC, he continues to support the arts as a producer with occasional acting roles. He most recently co-starred alongside Kelsie McDonald in No Translation Required, from director Rafael Altamira.

CINCO: Cristo is another great example of what I mentioned before: you are never too old to follow your dreams. I am very proud of him for following his heart on the football field. I hope he feels good about himself for making this decision. Cristo has always been the best big brother. He has helped me open my eyes to so much, and my way in this industry. We have a very tight-knit family. He was always a disruptor, and he taught me to dream big and to see that there are no limitations.