São Paulo best friends Julia, Micaela and Diego enter their thirties entirely unprepared for the considerations of adult maturity. Julia has chosen to remain blind to the obvious signs that her current boyfriend is a two-timing cad, but her eyes are forced wide-open when she discovers that she is pregnant with his child. Diego (played by pop-rock star Thiago Pethit in his big-screen debut) is a party boy with daddy issues who can’t stay faithful to his sweet, dependable boyfriend. Micaela, meanwhile, is wasting her time chasing a bisexual actress who won’t even acknowledge their shared intimacy in private. As these three charismatic but troubled friends keep spinning their wheels, even their own chosen-family bonds get stress-tested to their breaking point.

Writer-director Vera Egito, who shares her characters’ age and background, delivers the sort of insightful, exacting generational portrait that could only come from a clear-eyed and tough-minded young artist. She masterfully creates vibrant, fully realized characters that speak to a world extending far beyond the limits of São Paulo, touching on anxieties and aspirations that are truly universal. – Jaie Laplante

This film is preceded by MEMORIES OF THE SEA, directed by Thais Drassinower.