Thursday Till Sunday

Thursday Till Sunday is the story of a family road trip, and we experience much of it from the perspective of 10-year-old Lucía (the excellent Santi Ahumada) as she sits in the back seat of the car with her younger brother. As the family makes its way through the remote Chilean landscape, we witness the simmering tensions that exist between Lucía's bickering parents through her barely comprehending eyes, and first time director Dominga Sotomayor Castillo superbly captures these almost imperceptible emotional shifts with her intelligent compositions and sharp editing choices.

As well as being beautifully directed, Thursday Till Sunday is elegantly shot, with cinematographer Bárbara Álvarez excelling in both the cramped confines of the car and the more expansive locations that surround them. When it comes to the examination of familial relations, Castillo's perceptions are also pin-sharp, particularly when it comes to the complicated position children can find themselves in as they attempt to decipher the adult world. And anyone who has ever been trapped in a car with their quarrelling clan will surely find much to appreciate here. [Philip Concannon]