In the Summers

Two sisters spend successive childhood and adolescent summers with their father, a warm and charismatic man whose addiction and volatility keep undermining the closeness they long for. Told across four separate visits, the film watches the girls grow up while their relationship with their father shifts, hardens, and is slowly rebuilt.

The structure lets the film trace attachment across time: the hope a child brings to a parent, the disappointment that follows, and the gradual revision of an idealised figure into a fuller and more painful reality. It offers a clear picture of loving someone whose care is real but unreliable. It won the Grand Jury Prize and the Directing Award in the U.S. Dramatic competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024.