I Have Electric Dreams

Sixteen-year-old Eva lives with her mother, her younger sister and their cats. But she wants to move in with her father. He lives apart; he is angry, unstable, and trying to be a poet. Eva does everything she can to be near him and to fit into his world. That world contains violence and she learns to accept it. In the same period her own body and desires are changing. Valentina Maurel's first feature is set in Costa Rica. The narrative makes adolescence neither charming nor tragic; Eva's own anger surfaces in the same shape as her father's, and the film records it without judgement. Daniela Marín Navarro plays Eva and Reinaldo Amien Gutiérrez plays her father. The film won best direction, best actress and best actor at the Locarno Film Festival in 2022. Who it's for: Viewers who like Latin American independent cinema, narratives of adolescence, and father-daughter relationships. Who it's not for: The violence is harsh and the father is indefensible. The narrative also offers no resolution.