Sunflower

Gabriel Carrubba's 2024 Australian film follows Leo, seventeen, in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. His circle of friends is hard and built on a particular idea of manhood, and Leo is trying to understand his own sexuality. The film does not reduce this to a scene of disclosure. School corridors, the house and the language of the group are each shown in turn; the subject is not what Leo will do but how much room those around him leave for it. The cast is largely unknown and the camera stays close. The tone is realist and there are no large moments of transformation. Who it's for: viewers of Australian independent cinema and coming-of-age drama. Who it's not for: viewers for whom homophobic language and peer violence would be difficult.