Good One

17-year-old Sam would actually have preferred to go on a hike with her friends, but she does not want to disappoint her father Chris, so she joins him on a three-day hike through the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. Chris' old friend Matt is also there. Actually, his son would have gone too, but now that Matt and his wife are divorced, Matt wants nothing to do with his father. Uncomfortable for Sam, who is now stuck with two much older men. The two men reminisce a lot, she is mostly a listener, but the atmosphere is good. Until an innocently meant joke takes an uncomfortable turn. Sam realises she is on her own.

In this feature debut, written by herself, director India Donaldson mainly emphasises what is left unsaid. Very subtly and layered, she shows precisely what is felt and this succeeds wonderfully, also thanks to the impressive acting of Lilly Collias as Sam.