The Guerrasio family and friends gather to celebrate Claudio and Carmela's oldest daughter's 18th birthday. There is a healthy rivalry between the birthday girl and her 15-year-old sister Chiara as they compete on the dancefloor. It is a happy occasion, and the close-knit family are on top form.
However, everything changes the next day when the father disappears. Chiara starts to investigate, and as she gets closer to the truth, she is forced to decide what kind of future she wants for herself. There is so much naturalism to Carpignano’s direction that it’s easy to imagine this might be some reconstruction of real events.
But for all its social-realist tendencies, ‘A Chiara’ is told in a wonderfully fluid and poetic fashion, led by Tim Curtin’s photography and an emotive score.