The Quiet Girl is a poignant, thought-provoking, accomplished work from first-time feature director Colm Bairéad. Written by Bairéad, it's a mesmerising feature that intertwines a marvellously beautiful story that calls to mind the earliest work of Lynne Ramsay, particularly her first feature, Ratcatcher. The quiet girl is nine-year-old Cáit, brought to life by an incredibly fragile performance from Catherine Clinch. She is shunned at school and dealt with indifferently by her pregnant mother, and her father is a man who cares more about gambling than he does about his wife and four daughters.

Cáit experiences warmth and love for the first time after being sent off to spend the summer on a rustic dairy farm with Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley), a middle-aged distant cousin and her husband Seán (Andrew Bennett). It's a gorgeously crafted piece of filmmaking that accentuates natural connections between its characters and evolves its premise of love quite splendidly. It unfolds in tender and effective ways and exhibits Bairéad's knack for telling everything that needs to be said without words. With no relationship feeling rushed, The Quiet Girl is the type of coming-of-age drama that slyly sneaks up and fills one's heart with emotion.