Iván & Hadoum
Why this 2026 romance actually matters — and where to watch it
Iván & Hadoum premiered at Berlin in February 2026, and it's the kind of debut that makes you wonder why we don't see more films like it. Two people fall in love in an industrial greenhouse in southern Spain. Their families hate it. Their co-workers make it worse. And the director — Ian de la Rosa, first feature — isn't interested in whether love conquers all. He's interested in what it costs.
Silver Chicón plays Iván, a 33-year-old trans man with the kind of stillness that reads as earned rather than guarded. Herminia Loh Moreno is Hadoum, 30, Spanish-Moroccan, carrying her own family's weight alongside his. The film runs 100 minutes (some festival cuts clock 103), and it premiered in the Panorama section of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival on February 13, 2026 — the section historically tied to queer cinema and politically engaged work.
What's striking: Iván's transness isn't the source of drama. Everyone else is.
The greenhouse as a system — not just a setting
The industrial tomato greenhouse where they meet isn't wallpaper. It's a machine. Foreign-owned, efficiency-obsessed, staffed by people with precarious contracts and almost no leverage.
De la Rosa weaves their personal story through labor politics, union pressure, xenophobia directed at Hadoum, and the quiet violence of a promotion that suddenly puts Iván on the wrong side of his colleagues. The romance doesn't float above all this — it's embedded in it. That's what separates this from a thousand other love-story films. The world's making things hard on purpose, and they're trying anyway.
Cinematographer Beatriz Sastre shoots the whole thing in warm, sun-dappled tones that make the industrial setting feel almost pastoral. Until it doesn't.
How critics responded at Berlinale
Filmotomy's review praised the film's emotional delicacy and social insight, though the reviewer flagged that it "tackles a lot in its 103 minutes." Fair point — there are moments where a subplot about labor or family opposition gets introduced and doesn't quite get the breathing room it deserves. But that's a minor complaint about a film genuinely trying to hold multiple truths at once: that love is personal and political, that identity isn't a problem to solve, and that being yourself — not the version others need — is the actual work.
Journey Into Cinema described the two leads' chemistry as "genuinely unforced," which matters when the romance has to feel worth fighting for. It does.
The production: Spain-Germany-Belgium, five companies, Berlinale debut
This is de la Rosa's feature debut, and it's confident. Five production companies backed it — Avalon, Pecado Films, Vayolet Films, Port au Prince Films, and Saga Film — which explains both its modest, grounded aesthetic and its ability to land Panorama (not a section that accepts everything).
Box-office figures haven't been released, and Rotten Tomatoes / Metacritic aggregate scores aren't publicly available yet. That's normal for a film still circulating festivals in early 2026. Distribution rights are still being finalized post-Berlinale, which is why where-to-watch information can shift. Movie OTT updates streaming availability in real time across regions — worth checking if your preferred platform doesn't have it today, since festival films like this rotate frequently between services.
Where to watch right now
Iván & Hadoum is available on major OTT platforms. The exact title and region matter here — streaming rights vary wildly. The easiest way to find current availability in your area is the where-to-watch widget at Movie OTT, which refreshes daily rather than holding stale information.
If you can't find it on your usual service, it's probably because the distribution deal for your region hasn't been finalized yet. Check back in a few weeks — that's the reality of post-festival releases.
Who should actually watch this
You'll connect with Iván & Hadoum if you respond to socially grounded romance, queer stories told without melodrama, or just good debut filmmaking. If you've been burned by films that treat identity as a plot device rather than lived reality, this one's different. It doesn't need to be flashy to earn your attention.
The thing nobody mentions is how much trust de la Rosa puts in quiet moments. A conversation between Iván and Hadoum at the greenhouse edge. A family dinner that goes wrong in specific, recognizable ways. No manufactured tension. Just people navigating the gap between who they are and who everyone expects them to be.
If this sounds like something you'd want to see — and it should — your next step is checking Movie OTT for current availability. No reason to wait.
