Directed by Alice Millar, '90s-set drama
Summer in the Shade sees a young girl become disturbingly
fascinated with religion and the supernatural while holidaying in Cornwall.
The film stars Niamh Walter, Nyobi Hendry and Rebecca Palmer.
"Summer in the Shade is an exploration into the trauma of
puberty and the experience of self-disgust experienced by most women as
they deal with changing from a little girl to a sexualised being," says
Millar. "Universally this is a difficult time and for many, is accompanied by deep
psychological fear and existential revulsion. The body swells and starts
to bleed. Often, men look at you with hunger rather than affection and women with
jealousy rather than protection in their eyes. In the vivid imagination of
our protagonist Grace, who is also dealing with her father abandoning her
family for the cliche of a younger woman, these themes lead her to see
religion as a comfort. However the religion she finds merely reinforces a
sense of shame and guilt, as well as igniting fears of supernatural and
biblical terrors, demons, original sin and the concept of participating in
evil. I believe this experience is fairly universal, and it is important
that it is dealt with and acknowledged in the cultural consciousness, as
the ramifications of this time can affect an entire life."
Summer in the Shade is on UK/ROI VOD from June 20th.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
The official synopsis reads:
Summer, 1997. Twelve-year-old Grace and eleven-year-old Asta have been friends for as long as they can remember. When her father suddenly leaves, Grace’s fascination with religion and the supernatural becomes an obsession. At the end of the school holidays the girls go to stay in a cottage in the Cornish countryside with Asta’s bohemian mum, Kate. There, troubled Grace is forced to confront her demons...
