In Fernanda Tovar’s feature debut, she takes a serious and sympathetic look at the challenges faced by modern youth. Teenage girls La Maestra (Rocío Guzmán) and Paula (Darana Álvarez) are the best of friends and rank at the top of the school swim-team. Everything seems on track for the two to take the team trip to Brazil, until one night when they go to a party and something happens to Paula. La Maestra is torn between seeking vengeance for her friend as she believes is right, or supporting Paula’s wishes to keep the situation quiet and pretending it never happened. 

This intimate, adolescent drama manages a deft balance of portraying raw sensitivity without falling into sensationalism. The performance of Guzmán and Álvarez’ characters’ friendship and eventual difficulties belies years of camaraderie and trust, and yet, as the story goes on, there is always some overripe aspect of a feeling unsaid. Tovar’s direction portrays the girls’ environment as three different worlds: the bright colourful Mexican streets, shadowy interiors where feelings are held and revealed, and the pool where everything is free.—Frédéric Boyer