In a struggling immigrant community, two gifted tennis players, Aina, an Afghan Christian refugee, and Theo, a Congolese boy haunted by his father’s war trauma compete for a single scholarship that threatens to fracture the love, community, and sanctuary they’ve always shared.
On a cracked public tennis court in a working-class immigrant neighborhood, Aina (17), the daughter of Afghan Christian immigrants, and Theo (17), whose family fled Congo, train side by side. Bound by discipline, ritual, and an intimacy they’ve never named, tennis is their refuge a place where inherited fear briefly loosens its grip, and the future feels imaginable. Together, they chase the Legacy Tennis Scholarship, a rare opportunity that could carry one of them to Stanford University and change the trajectory of their families’ lives.
When both are shortlisted for the scholarship and learn that only one will be chosen their quiet equilibrium begins to shift. Encouragement turns tentative. Silence grows heavier. Partners become competitors, and the court that once felt like sanctuary becomes charged with everything, they can’t bring themselves to say. At home, the pressure sharpens. Aina carries the weight of her mother Martha, an Afghan immigrant and former doctor whose faith, sacrifice, and unhealed loss are pinned to her daughter’s success. Failure feels unthinkable not just for Aina, but for the life her family fought to rebuild. Across town, Theo lives with his father David, a former Congolese activist shaped by exile and fear, who believes survival means staying small. For both parents, winning is proof that suffering was not in vain.
As Aina trains with relentless focus, Theo begins to drift toward something quieter and more uncertain. Through photography, he starts to see his neighborhood and himself differently: moments of tenderness, laughter, and resilience that exist beyond achievement. The more clarity he finds, the more conflicted he becomes about the future he is expected to want.The strain between Aina and Theo deepens through missed rituals, unspoken jealousy, and growing emotional distance. Even as they continue to meet on the court, their bodies begin to speak truths their words avoid. Love lingers in the space between them felt, but never claimed.
As the competition reaches its final stages, both teens are forced to confront questions they’ve spent years outrunning: What does it mean to succeed? Who are they allowed to become? And what is the cost of choosing or not choosing their own lives? Set within a vibrant immigrant community alive with faith, food, music, and memory, THE LAST SET is a tender coming-of-age story about inherited pressure, quiet love, and the fragile moment when growing up means listening to yourself for the first time even if it means letting something go.
Desiree Kahikopo-Meiffret – Producer/Director
Desiree is an Award-winning producer/director from Namibia. Desiree's participation in the Namibian film and theatre industry spans over 12 years as a performer, actress, creative director as well as playwright. She produced, wrote and directed a theatre play titled' A Lifetime of Blues' that won best set design at the Namibian Film and Theatre Awards 2014. She has worked on countless film sets including 'Fish Out of Water' as a Line Producer by the well-known Namibian filmmaker Vickson Hangula.
Desiree’s award winning debut film titled 'The White Line'has premiered and screened at various international film festivals across the globe and has went on to win Best newcomer director for Desiree and best film script and the Audience choice award at the Namibia Theatre and Film 2019 and went on to win Best cinematographer and Best Feature Film at the 7th African Emerging Filmmakers Award 2019 in Durban, The White Line also got a special jury mention at the 9th Luxor African Film Festival 2020 in Egypt for its direction and won the Kilimanjoro award for Best Feature film in Toulouse, France at the Africlap film festival 2020.
An alumna of Talents Durban 2018, Desiree was recently nominated Best first film by a director at the Africa MovieAcademy Awards 2020 (AMAA). “The White Line” is Namibia’s first film to be submitted to the Oscars 2022 and the Golden Globes.
Desiree with her Namibian company called DEVIne Film Productions facilitated a
Netflix production titled “Fiesta en la Madriguera” that was partly filmed in Namibia of which she was the Namibian Producer on it in 2023.
Desiree also sponsored and executive produced a short film by a young Namibian filmmaker called “Metamorphorsis” by Monika Amunyela, as well as produced a pilot titled “Windhoek City” in optioning stage. Recently directed and produced a short film titled “When the world broke open” in post-production stage.
