Selected for Critics’ Week at Cannes, Spanish filmmaker Clara Roquet’s coming-of-age debut captures female desire and friendship on the lush coast of Catalonia.

Shy 15-year-old Nora arrives with her family at their holiday mansion on the sparkling shores of Costa Brava, in north-eastern Spain. Nora dreads the prospect of being stuck with her parents for another summer, but luckily, her ailing grandmother’s Colombian caretaker has brought along her rebellious 15-year-old daughter, Libertad. One, a sheltered rich kid; the other, a street-smart girl who knows just how to handle the local boys. Where will their newfound friendship lead them?

First-time feature filmmaker Roquet – a screenwriter on Jaime Rosales’ Petra and Carlos Marques-Marcet’s 10,000 KM (MIFF 2014), and whom Variety named a talent to watch in 2016 – has made a vivacious debut with this exhilarating, vibrantly sun-kissed drama. Premiering as part of the prestigious Critics’ Week at Cannes, Libertad richly evokes adolescent sexual awakening and female camaraderie while training a keen eye on class and the rot of the wealthy.

“A story about class differences, the meaning of freedom and who grants it, Libertad marks the much-awaited feature debut of Clara Roquet.” – Variety