„Dad, what happens after death? You’ll never die, right?”

My name is Dániel, this year I turn 40. I am a puppeteer, but my most important role is that of a father. To these questions, I cannot give an answer that is both honest and reassuring. I have never been taught how to deal with grief or the fear of losing someone. This film is my journey to explore how different cultures face death and how we can accept its inevitability. Puppetry itself has ancient roots in funeral rites — with masks and figures once used to evoke souls, gods, and demons. Following this tradition, every encounter I film becomes part of an inner journey, transformed into a new puppet performance for children about death and passing. I travel with my camera to Mexico’s Day of the Dead, to Japan’s ritual body-washing and Spirit Boat, to Ghana’s imaginative coffins and mourning rituals — searching for traditions that help the living let go, and honor the dead. Because I believe we can help our children accept the inevitability of death more easily. That there can be an answer to their bewildering question — one that is both honest and reassuring: what happens when someone dies?