On the verge of finalizing an unlawfully acquired business deal, a tough CEO and her remorseful sister meet their match when an auditor discovers their scheme, forcing them to confront their past before their family breaks apart.

SYNOPSIS:

In present-day Australia, Rose Waters is the CEO of a successful beauty company that she runs together with her sister and CFO Poppy. Unbeknownst to Rose, Poppy killed her husband in a traffic accident many years ago, guilting her into giving up her own private life to support her sister in whatever she needs. Rose’s company is about to venture into the development of medical products as both sisters suffer from a hereditary eye disease that is on the verge of taking away their beloved mother Flora’s eyesight. In order to make this happen Rose strikes a deal with corrupt politician Walter Weed to have a decommissioned water pipe resurrected that will branch off water from a river to her company’s crop grown for research purposes, draining a local water reservoir that serves as habitat for various wildlife. For this reason, Poppy has set up a scheme whereby she pays the company’s management team excess bonuses that they in turn spend on favors for the councilman. 

One day auditor Palmer Enright, a father in the middle of a custody battle for his daughter, appears with the mandate to look at the company’s books. Rose implores Poppy to do whatever it takes to keep him in the dark about their illegal doings, to which she willingly obliges. While Palmer audits the company under the watchful eyes of Poppy Rose meets Weed to discuss his additional demands. To her surprise, she finds her estranged activist daughter Briar at the forefront of a rally against the pipeline. Rose confronts her, and the subsequent fight about the trade-off between medical research and nature conservationism pushes them further apart. 

Poppy and Palmer grow closer at the company’s summer party, where she finds out that he has picked up some clues about the bribery scheme. However, she manages to disperse his suspicions, and they end up spending the night together. At the same time, Briar and her girlfriend Violet uncover Weed’s plan to build a housing project on the drained river bank, destroying a heritage site of the local Aboriginal people.

Shortly after Palmer uncovers the full scheme of the sister’s illegal actions. Despite Poppy’s attempts to bribe him into destroying his evidence, he insists on reporting the sisters to the authorities. Poppy goes to Rose to help, who in turn asks Weed to have the judge repeal Palmer’s shared custody rights to his daughter if he doesn’t comply. Torn between his professional duty and his love for his child, Palmer turns in all his documentation to Poppy. Poppy, heartbroken and appalled by her sister's actions, confronts Rose, and a heated argument ensues during which Poppy confesses to killing Rose's husband all those years ago. Having found out about Weed’s plan to not only destroy a natural habitat but also an important cultural site, the furious management team turns up and takes a stand against the Waters sisters. Finally realizing that the search for a cure for a disease can’t outweigh the importance of preserving nature, Aboriginal history, and their family, Rose agrees to let Palmer reveal the truth.

While Poppy goes to Palmer to let him know that the sisters are prepared to live with the consequences of their actions, Rose makes her way to the lake where she finds Briar and Flora at the forefront of a rally. Despite Rose’s best intentions, Briar starts to fight again, blaming her mother not only for her involvement in corrupt politics but also for the death of her father. Just when Poppy turns up to tell Briar the truth of their family’s history Flora gets pushed by the crowd and falls head-first onto a stone, uniting the Waters’ women in their anguish over their matriarch’s pain.

A couple of days later Weed has been taken into custody, and Rose resigned from her company while awaiting her trial. She meets Briar at her father’s grave, where mother and daughter finally make up. Palmer meets Poppy at the lake where, finally free of the burden of guilt and with time to spare, Poppy shows herself open for a fresh start in life.

Official Selection Sydney Lift-Off Film Festival 2023

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SUBORN ROSE