Only

DIRECTOR SIMON REYNOLDS IN PERSON |  EXCLUSIVE FIRST RUN!
A modest triumph of truly independent filmmaking, this assured, disarming first feature, co-directed by Ingrid Veninger and Simon Reynolds, has been described as "a preteen Before Sunrise," but also occupies the same understated, naturalistic territory as the indie hit Wendy and Lucy and other recent works of American cinema’s "neo-neorealism." (These films also owe a debt to Belgium’s masterful Dardenne brothers, whose La Promesse screens here on May 22). A sleeper discovery on the past year’s festival circuit — it screened at Toronto, Vancouver, Slamdance and Rome — Only is set against the snowy, somnolent terrain of a small northern Ontario town, where two youngsters have a brief encounter with the blush of first love. Daniel is a bored, lonely 12-year-old whose parents run a local motel. Vera is a 13-year-old temporarily stranded in town by the latest nasty eruption in her parents’ troubled marriage. The two spend a day together wandering about and gradually getting to know each other. The premise is deceptively simple, the low-budget execution impressive: Only is a finely observed, well performed, genuinely affecting film that captures the awkward burgeoning of adolescent emotions and understanding with rare authenticity. Co-director Veninger also co-wrote the recent Nurse. Fighter. Boy. Colour, DigiBeta video. 74 mins.

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