Aftersun: Touching drama about a special father-daughter relationship
Plot and background
A seaside resort in Turkey in the late 1990s. Eleven-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) is spending a seemingly carefree holiday here with her father Calum (Paul Mescal). The relationship between the young father and his daughter is loving and eye-to-eye, their bond seemingly inseparable. Sophie captures the holiday on her new camcorder, in the form of blurred footage of outings, swimming and pool games. But behind his carefree façade, Calum hides a deep melancholy and unexpected secrets from Sophie. When she remembers twenty years later, the nostalgic holiday photos take on a new meaning.
“Aftersun” – background, cast, cinema release
Charlotte Wells makes her feature film debut with “Aftersun” and also wrote the screenplay for the film. The Scottish director previously made three short films as a student at NYU. She was featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Faces of Independent Film” and participated in the Sundance Institute’s “Screenwriters and Directors Lab” in 2020. Wells created a hopeful coming-of-age story, which had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes International Film Festival. The young director’s film won the French Touch Jury Prize at Cannes Critics’ Week 2022 here.
But the Scottish drama was convincing not least because of the strong cast in the leading roles. Newcomer Frankie Corio plays the role of eleven-year-old Sophie. BAFTA winner Paul Mescal (“Normal People”) stars as Sophie’s father Calum. Together, the two create an intimate family portrait in front of the camera. Cinematographer Greg Oke captures aesthetic and nostalgic images, bringing to life the feeling of hot summer holiday days and innocent childlike frivolity.
The poignant coming-of-age film will be released in German cinemas on 15 December 2022.
