LITTLE WING

Varpu is busy navigating her snarky friendships at horse-riding camp and the tricky business of first crushes. When she’s not doing 12-year-old things, she’s taking care of her mother who can’t quite seem to get a handle on the responsibilities of adulthood. As her mom prepares to reenter the dating scene, Varpu’s questions about her absent father go unanswered. In a fit of rebellion, Varpu finds herself at the wheel of a stolen car headed north for Oulu with nothing but a dead cell phone and an address for the father she’s never met. With every bit of optimism riding on this life-changing meeting, Varpu hopes this missing piece can finally bring stability to her life of uncertainty. However, this man is not the father figure she had in mind. Touching and conflicted, LITTLE WING portrays the complicated dynamics of a mother-daughter duo and reminds us that while we cannot change our parents, maybe we don’t have to. (In Finnish with subtitles) —A.B.