The Dubai premiere of Brazilian short film Ocean of Mothers by Thaís Vilarinho, was a night to remember. Held at Roxy Cinema in Dubai Hills Mall, lead actress Sabrina Petraglia stole the show in a striking black denim gown by Dunesi, a UAE-based sustainable fashion brand founded by Hanne Ripsaluoma. Crafted from upcycled denim, the elegant, sparkle-accented dress perfectly complemented the evening’s celebration of creativity and resilience.
The film is a heartfelt exploration of motherhood. It follows Thaís – played by UAE expat Sabrina, well known for her roles in popular Brazilian soap operas for the O Globo Network – a single mother grappling with the aftermath of a messy divorce and a difficult relationship with her own mother. As tragedy strikes, she finds healing through the ocean and the steadfast support of her girlfriends. Ocean of Mothers shares the hopes and struggles of motherhood, reminding us of the gift of friendship.
The Ethicalist caught up with lead actress Sabrina and Dunesi founder Hanne, behind the scenes.
TE: Sabrina, your move to the UAE must have been a significant turning point in your career. How did relocating impact your journey as an actress?
Sabrina: A few years ago, around the time my contract with Globo was ending, my husband was offered a role with his company in the UAE. I had just played a successful main role in a soap oper and my career was becoming more stable despite juggling three small children. The news struck me deeply because I didn’t know how I would continue as an actress abroad. How could I keep my career and independence without the support of my network?
This particular project was born from sisterhood. Women supporting other women. Once settled in Dubai I connected with Thais Vilarinho, who is a writer of books on motherhood and the editor of Mother Outside the Box (Mae fora da Caixa) a blog where she shares brilliant insights into motherhood and family life. We got together to conceptualise the narrative and she developed the backbone of the film. Two and a half years later, we are here promoting this seminal project, Ocean of Mothers, and the first of many, hopefully. We realised that our shared struggles gave us the courage and strength to realise our dreams and build a better future for mothers.
TE: How did the collaboration between you and Hanne from Dunesi come to fruition?
Sabrina: Hanne and I met at a party and we connected straight away through our love for the arts. I admired her creativity and sustainable values, and her efforts to create a better future through her conscious fashion brand. Hanne is also a mother of two, she is an expat like me, she is a businesswoman who pushes forward to realise her dreams. We decided then she would dress me with one of her striking upcycled designs for the premiere of Ocean of Mothers. The plan is to continue our collaboration on many future projects.
TE: Hanne, what was the inspiration for Sabrina’s dress design?
Hanne: ‘Our collaboration started when Sabrina and I met, she mentioned Ocean of Mothers was in production and she would love to wear Dunesi at the film premiere in Dubai. I work mainly with upcycled denim, which is a casual fabric, so I decided to use black denim for her dress to give it a chic edge. To match with Sabrina’s beautiful figure and captivating smile, we made the design quite fitted and added sparkles so she could shine like a star.’
TE: Motherhood is an universal experience, how did the film connect with your experience of motherhood?
Hanne: Motherhood connects all mothers regardless where they are from. I feel lucky I have a beautiful friendship with my mum. I didn’t have similar struggles as the divorced main character, in Ocean of Mothers and as a mum of two kids, my husband and I are still together and we share our family home. But I think as an expat, there’s an element of missing the support network that you would have back in your country. It brings challenges but there is a richness for our kids to live in a place like Dubai and being exposed to so many languages and cultures.
TE: What was your motivation to set up the Dunesi brand? Is Dunesi a Finnish word?
Hanne: I am a very proud Fin, I love Finland but I wanted to explore the world. I have lived in the UK and the US and I ended up in Dubai 17 years ago. The name for the brand came to me when I was playing with the Finnish word ‘unesi’ which means ‘your dream.’ I wanted to add D, for Dubai, at the beginning, and with this addition I noticed the the word dunes. So, in a way Dunesi evoques ‘the dunes of your Dubai dream.’
Dunesi started as a resort wear brand around nine years ago, however, I wasn’t able to make it as sustainable as I wanted it to be, so when Covid hit we decided to pause production. Almost two years ago we relaunched after I came up with the upcycling idea, and now we now proudly only produce sustainable fashion. We work closely with a charity to source our denim and we also use leftover fabrics.
TE: Sabrina, this project was massively supported by the Brazilian community. What are the plans for the future? Are you planning projects that involve a cultural exchange between Brazil – UAE?
Sabrina: Since moving to Dubai I have learnt so much about the region. I have a huge respect for its people and culture. This country is so beautiful and diverse and I would love to foment cultural exchanges between Brazil and the UAE. I already have three projects in the pipeline to promote our literature to a wider audience, and to produce children’s plays in Dubai. And last but not least, my goal is to show Dubai to a Brazilian audience as no one has ever shown it before.
