Against the festival's signature blue backdrop, with the outline of its bear emblem glowing faintly behind her, she turns her gaze downward and lets a wide, unguarded smile take over. Her hair is pulled back slick and tight, with one strand escaping to fall across her cheek, and a sculptural silver ear cuff coils up the curve of her ear alongside a matching spiral stud. The black blazer is sharp and minimal, cut with a deep V that leaves the lapels to do all the work, and the soft press light catches the warm tones of her skin. It is the kind of moment that happens between poses at a photo call, when the shutters keep firing and the subject briefly forgets to perform.
This photograph was taken at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2023. Sweeney was in Berlin for the world premiere of Reality, the film by Tina Satter in which she plays the whistleblower Reality Winner. The festival, known as the Berlinale, is one of the three large European film festivals, with Cannes and Venice.