Chile, in the summer of 1990. Just after the fall of Pinochet and his military dictatorship. The inhabitants of a remote commune in the foothills of the Andes try to make a new life, far from the chaos of the city. They don’t have electricity yet, but the people there feel free after years of oppression. We see life here through the eyes of sixteen-year-old Sofia and Lucas, who is the same age and secretly in love with her. But Sofia has feelings for Ignacio, who is older.
In this coming-of-age story, Dominga Sotomayor (who has previously won two Tiger Awards) has created a principally sensory, tangible experience. This year, she was the first woman to win the award for Best Director in Locarno. Clearly, it is not only the teenagers who are experiencing growing pains. The same is true of the country of Chile itself, as it learns to stand on its own two feet again.