A woman’s lonely life is documented in meticulous detail in a deeply affecting drama from first-time feature filmmaker Laura Carreira, helmed by a performance of discreet beauty from Joana Santos. Set in Glasgow, On Falling takes a chillingly credible look at how it feels to be a human cog in our machine of obsessive consumption. Santos plays Aurora, a Portuguese immigrant who toils thanklessly as a product picker in an Amazon-like warehouse: a solitary, poorly paid and evidently spirit-crushing job with limited opportunities for social contact. Outside of work, her existence is similarly stripped back; she occupies a simple room in a student-style dormitory, sharing a small kitchen with other low-paid migrants, who work to very different schedules.

Well-known in Portugal where she’s a glamorous soap opera star, Santos shrinks impressively into the role, delicately conveying Aurora’s unease around others and desperation for change. We see how she relies on her phone for company and as a crutch during awkward interactions. Fleeting pleasures and disappointments are relayed in heartbreaking fashion, as Aurora makes a connection in the canteen, goes clubbing, has her make-up done in a department store, bonds with colleagues over the horrible weather, and indulges her sweet tooth on payday.

A Portuguese native herself, based in Edinburgh, Carreira’s sensitivity to everyday misery and injustice marks her out as one to watch, with On Falling picking up the 2024 BFI London Film Festival’s award for Best First Feature in acknowledgement of its achievements. It is a small but incredibly important film which shines a light on those forgotten souls who make the modern world go round, at great personal cost.

On Falling is screened at GFT on Saturday 1 March as part of Glasgow Film Festival, and goes on general release from Friday 7 March.