Polished, insightful and deeply affecting, A Year Ago in Winter elevates an often hidden family trauma to the level of timeless drama. In graceful scenes, the film opens with the sudden, unexplained death of nineteen-year-old Alexander. His passing leaves a devastating absence in the family. To contain her grief, his mother Eliane commissions a prominent local artist to paint a portrait of her lost son and still present daughter. Lilli begins visiting the studio of the strange, reclusive artist Max. There is immediate friction between them, but as Max engages Lilli in probing conversation, trying to understand both her own soul and her connection to her brother, a unique bond develops. This friendship starts to unearth the pain that Lilli's family has become so good at hiding. As an artist who has chosen a more bohemian life, Max can speak truths that Eliane has long suppressed, and challenges both mother and daughter.