Melodifestivalen (direct translation: The Melody Festival) is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT). The competition is a six part tour (5 heats + the final) with stops in cities across Sweden to determine the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest. Melodifestivalen is also known informally as "Mello", or internationally as "Melfest".

In a near future the government decides to save money on psychiatric care. Josh, a mute war victim, is let out on the cold, gritty streets where he befriends the beautiful Maria who hides a horrible secret.