Twelve-year-old Dalva (Zelda Samson), who wears the make-up and clothes of a much older woman, lives alone with her father. Following a police raid of their home, Dalva’s father is arrested, and she is put into the care of a foster home. Dalva is dumbfounded and outraged at first, but she soon meets and befriends her new roommate Samia, a teen with a temper, and social worker Jayden, and gradually comes to understand that the love she shared with her father was not what she thought. With their help, Dalva will learn to become a child again. In her poignant debut feature, Emmanuelle Nicot explores the ramifications of conditioning and abuse with great sensitivity and grace.

Notes by David O’Mahony