Keswick Film Festival

Synopsis

"It's difficult to think of the moments before a heartbreak and not lace them with omens. The mind, too often, moulds memories into prophecies. Colours get dialled up. Emotions solidify. It's a hard thing to talk about, let alone visualise. That's why 'Aftersun', the debut of Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells, is so astounding. She's captured the uncapturable, finding the words and images to describe a feeling that always seems to sit just beyond our comprehension.

Eleven-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) is on holiday with her dad, Calum (Paul Mescal), at a point in the Nineties when the Macarena was at its cultural apex. It's made clear that Calum isn't with Sophie's mother anymore. He moved to England; they stayed in Scotland. This trip to Turkey, which Calum can barely afford, is a rare opportunity for father and daughter to be together.

Except we’re not watching these events as they were, but as they're remembered – by an older Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) under the strobe lights of a nightclub or a rave or, really, the chaotic confines of her own brain. We also see her play and replay an old VHS tape from the trip, trying to pinpoint some hidden truth… this shared time between Sophie and Calum marked the end of... something..." – Clarisse Loughrey, Independent.

As the recent winner of five of the British Independent Film awards, including Best Film and Best Director, this reviewer is not alone; 95% of Rotten Tomatoes critics liked it, many of them giving it 5 stars.