Grace's Theory

Directed by

Guia Zapponi

Grace, forty, is a scientist at the Exousia Foundation. When her boss Giovanni informs her of the death of her colleague Xiu Chen — his camp ransacked and burned, his computer missing — Grace travels to Costa Rica to recover the documents from his research into plants capable of tolerating high levels of CO₂. On the island where Xiu conducted secret experiments, guided by his young assistant Santiago, Grace discovers a plant with extraordinarily long leaves, which had already appeared in her daughter’s dreams. After they are followed by a car, Grace flees to Italy with several specimens. Back home, Xiu’s research attracts powerful interests. Between an old Biology professor, a multinational executive demanding the results, and an IT engineer hiding the data in a secure cloud, Grace discovers the true purpose of Xiu’s work: communicating with certain plant species and understanding their language. She decides to protect the research so it can remain a shared heritage of humanity.