A dreamy evocation of a time and place, and the bond shared between father and daughter, Aftersun marks the impressive feature debut of Scottish filmmaker Charlotte Wells. Set in a Turkish resort in the late 1990s, this nuanced, nostalgic drama stars Normal People’s Paul Mescal as Calum, an ex-raver who became a parent young, split from the mother and is now holidaying with his 11-year-old daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio), hoping to forge a bond as she moves into adolescence. 

The film is framed by scenes of the older Sophie (Celia Rowlson-Hall) looking back at video footage from that era, reckoning with a parent who even remarks that he can’t see himself making it to 40. Back then, theirs was a friendly relationship. Perhaps too friendly. Calum gives Sophie the drugs chat: ‘I've done it all and you can too.’ As she hangs out with older kids around the resort, this is her coming-of-age moment.

Scored with a killer jukebox, from Blur’s ‘Tender’ to ‘Macarena’, Wells delicately conjures the decade, but what really impresses is her visual acuity. There’s a poetry to the way she stages conversations and exchanges, whilst drawing sublime turns from Mescal and Corio. A beautiful, striking debut. 

Filmhouse, 15 August, 1.30pm; Aftersun goes on general release on 18 November.