Too Late to Die Young 15

Set in Chile in the aftermath of the Pinochet regime, Dominga Sotomayor’s (Thursday Till Sunday, Mar) accomplished third film explores different generations adapting to new freedoms and an uncertain future. The film received its UK premiere in Competition at the BFI London Film Festival last year and won Sotomayor the Leopard for Best Director at Locarno.

Inspired by Sotomayor’s own experiences growing up in the alternative ecological community of Peñalolén, it sets its scene amid a group of adolescents living on a rural commune in the foothills of the Andes. Sixteen-year old Sofia (Demian Hernández) is intoxicated with the motorbike-riding Ignacio (Matías Oviedo) – much to the dismay of her friend, Lucas (Antar Machado); meanwhile, ten-year old Clara (Magdalena Tótoro) is more concerned with the whereabouts of her beloved dog. As they attempt to make sense of their own burgeoning desires and tangled relationships, in the background, their country is likewise maturing as it comes to terms with the end of decades of brutal fascist rule

Named by many critics as Sotomayor’s best film so far, Too Late to Die Young is a subtly observed evocation of a time brimming with hope and trepidation, with cinematographer Inti Briones strikingly capturing the faded, sun-scorched hues of an endless summer.