In a bleak little neighborhood that seems to exist out of time, clever and curious 18-year-old Elisa has been selected to go work in the North, a great honor both for her family and the entire neighborhood. The trouble is that nobody is able to visit the North, and the few people who are selected to go — like Elisa’s older sister — don’t come back. While Elisa’s mother desperately saves money to enter in the town’s lottery to go North and finally be with her daughters again, Elisa begins to wonder if leaving is really what’s best for them.

Dystopian yet hopeful, A Bright Future is a stylish and weird look into a world where ants are evil, dogs are extinct and youth is the most valuable thing in the world. As we follow promising young Elisa on her journey, we also examine the dilemmas she encounters: how much to question authority, how right your parents really are and how much of yourself to sacrifice for the so-called greater good.—Camille Ramos

Lucia Garibaldi