Futuro Beach (Praia do Futuro) tells the story of lifeguard Donato (played by Wagner Moura, whom you might recognise from Elite Squad or Narcos) and German war veteran and motorcyclist, Konrad (Clemens Schick). When a German tourist loses his life in a drowning at Fortaleza's famous Praia do Futuro (Future Beach), Donato feels the death is his fault and begins a journey to escape from his present self. He leaves for Berlin in search of his lover, Konrad, whom he had met ten years earlier at the same beach, and saved from drowning. Whenever Donato drifts away, his younger brother, Ayrton (Jesuita Barbosa), brings him back.

This tale of two cities that also addresses displacement, home, queer spaces, and liberation, is also a personal one for the director; Karim Aïnouz was born in Fortaleza, Brazil, and moved to Berlin, Germany; his feature debut, Madame Satã, is also a modern classic of queer cinema.