The strong resemblance and stronger rapport between Calum (Paul Mescal), 30, and Sophie (Frankie Corio), his 11-year-old daughter, has them frequently mistaken for siblings. Away on a family-of-two vacation at a discount Turkish resort, the pair often conduct themselves like impish kids playing hooky. Prone to manic spells, Calum showers Sophie with affection and whatever else his meagre budget might allow. All of this in a desperate bid to stave off a depressive episode that looms like the Sword of Damocles.
In her astonishing feature debut, Charlotte Wells demonstrates a gentle touch but unwavering command of emotional complexities. As Sophie fumbles her way into adolescence and Calum teeters at the brink of psychological collapse, telling moments and revelatory gestures amass significance. Wells’ formal prowess is impressive as she interweaves her luminous 35mm compositions with digital video keepsakes shot by Sophie. As Aftersun builds to its deeply affecting finale, we’re reminded how life’s turning points often arrive without warning.
French Touch Prize of the Jury, Cannes Critics’ Week 2022
Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall
UK/USA
2022
English
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Blue Trail
In a near-future Brazil, elderly citizens are forcibly relocated to live out their days in a senior housing colony. When 77-year-old Tereza learns that she will soon be taken away, she embarks on a fantastical odyssey into the Amazon.
Shifting Baselines
Towering rockets rise as wetlands vanish in this sly black-and-white documentary about SpaceX’s conquest of Boca Chica, Texas. With sci-fi aesthetics and observational calm, the film exposes how cosmic dreams begin with the quiet erasure of Earth.
A Poet
When embittered poet Oscar Restrepo takes a job at a local high school, he meets Yurlady, a talented student from a poor background. Seeking to help her cultivate her art, he draws her into the poetry world — to disastrous and comedic results.
La Salsa Vive
An exuberant celebration of salsa that traces the genre's evolution from New York City in the 1960s and 70s to Cali, Colombia — the salsa capital of the world. Carvajal’s documentary highlights the rich legacy of this musical form and the joy it inspires.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
Can a filmmaker depict the future without AI? Damien Hauser crafts a genre-blending Afro-speculative fable about love, war, and the future of storytelling in a resurrected African kingdom. A micro-budget epic fueled by digital invention and heart.
Winter Light
Da-bin has a broke mother, a runaway brother, and a sister who’s going deaf, but gets by thanks to his best friend and caring girlfriend. Poignant and poetic, this is a film that explores the pain of adolescence and the stress of competing loyalties.
Credits
Producer
Adele Romanski, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, Mark Ceryak
Screenwriter
Charlotte Wells
Cinematography
Gregory Oke
Editor
Blair McClendon
Production Design
Billur Turan
Original Music
Oliver Coates
Director
Charlotte Wells
Charlotte Wells is a Scottish filmmaker based in New York. She wrote and directed three short films as a student in the MBA/MFA dual degree program at NYU. Wells has been featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film and was a fellow at the 2020 Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters and Directors Labs. Aftersun is her first feature.