PÖFF: The Virgin of the Quarry Lake

In 2001, three teenagers from the outskirts of Buenos Aires all fall in love with Diego. Natalia has always had the most chemistry with him, but when it seems inevitable that their friendship will turn into something more, the older and more experienced Silvia appears and soon captures Diego’s attention. With stylish visual precision, director Laura Casabé brings Benjamin Naishtat’s evocative script to life, marking the first on-screen adaptation of celebrated author Mariana Enríquez’s unsettling short stories. Casabé immerses us in the tense socio-economic reality of an Argentina facing an unprecedented crisis — one that seeps into everyday life and interactions in ever more disturbing and surprising ways. In this surreal and uncertain moment, Dolores Oliverio depicts Natalia’s coming of age with grit, nailing the contradictions inherent to this phase of life as she gradually comes to realize and embrace her sexuality and the sinister world around her. ""Brilliantly luxuriating in a steamy summer where everyone is on edge, ""The Virgin of the Quarry Lake"" draws on a fusion of dark folklore and adolescent angst that pushes simmering self-empowerment to its boiling point."" — Ana Souza, Sundance Film Festival