MUBI has dropped a new trailer for Hot Milk, the atmospheric and emotionally charged directorial debut from BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz (Disobedience, She Said, Ida). The film, based on Deborah Levy’s Booker Prize and Goldsmiths Prize-shortlisted novel of the same name, will open in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on July 4, following its world premiere in Competition at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.

Starring BAFTA winner Emma Mackey (Sex Education, Emily) and Emmy and BAFTA-nominated Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve, Bad Sisters), Hot Milk explores the fragile terrain of mother-daughter relationships, female identity, and queer awakening all under the sweltering pathetic fallacy of a Spanish summer.

The film follows Sofia (Mackey) as she travels with her ailing and domineering mother Rose (Shaw) to the coastal town of Almería to seek help from the elusive Dr. Gómez (Vincent Perez). As tensions between mother and daughter mount, Sofia is drawn to Ingrid (played by Vicky Krieps), a magnetic and unapologetically free woman who awakens a desire Sofia has never fully explored.

What follows is a story of queer longing and psychological reckoning. In Ingrid, Sofia glimpses the possibility of a life lived on her own terms, outside the shadow of maternal control and her mother’s illness. Their bond is charged and transformative, offering both intimacy and disorientation. But as Sofia’s sense of self and freedom deepens, the secrets buried within her family begin to surface, blurring the lines between illness, manipulation, and love.

With a supporting cast that includes Yann Gael (1899, Gladiator II) and Patsy Ferran (Mickey 17, Firebrand), Hot Milk is a richly textured exploration of control, sexuality, and emotional inheritance. Lenkiewicz’s direction brings an eerie, dreamlike tone to the story, evoking both liberation and unease.

At its heart, Hot Milk is a queer coming-of-age story wrapped in sun, salt, and simmering resentment. Hot Milk opens in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on July 4.