In the summer of 1993, following the death of her parents, six-year-old - and wise-beyond-her-years - Frida (Laia Artigas) is forced from bustling Barcelona to the Catalan provinces to live with her aunt Marga (Bruna Cusi) and uncle Esteve (David Verdaguer), her new legal guardians.

The couple’s own daughter Anna (Paula Dobles), even younger than Frida, welcomes her new sister with open arms and without a flicker of jealousy.

Even as the new family begins to find a fragile balance, the source of her parents’ passing casts a shadow over how Frida is treated by the local community. Indeed, her life will never be the same.

Through the eyes of Frida we experience her efforts to cope with grief and the uncertainty such a situation creates. Her worries are conveyed with maturity and heartfelt emotion.

We see Frida experiencing all the perplexing feelings that make her so human: jealousy, love, hate, fear, joy, empathy, selflessness, sadness. These disparate emotions are skilfully infused into Frida's character painting a most delicate picture.  

Frida's sense of belonging progressively unfolds even when erstwhile truths are exposed. It is when she is alone, however, that her true inner feelings seep out. The tempest brewing within Frida is unspoken, and her tears invisible.  

Her ineffable sense of displacement and anger in the scenes with her aunt morph into tender moments of great empathy. These highly charged moments become the foundation for Frida's emerging identity.

What gives Summer 1993 its strength is Frida's ability to scrutinise everything in sight with a clear but questioning gaze. This is reinforced through the cinematographic technique of having the camera next to Frida inviting the audience to see Frida's world through her eyes, and her eyes alone.   

The six and four-year-old Frida and Anna are the crux of the story. The director creates an environment that is non-invasive which results in her two actors having the freedom to behave most naturally. As we observe Frida and Anna their naive spontaneity engenders a delivery that feels mostly improvised.

Carla Simon auditioned almost 1,000 children before Laia finally appeared. Simon found the fierce intensity in the child actor's stare to be truly entrancing and full of ambiguity. 'Laia had the qualities that you might expect in a 'good girl', but you had no idea what she was actually thinking'.

Frida and Anna provide two of the most natural and credible performances that I have ever seen from children their age.

Summer 1993 is a sincere, bittersweet depiction of a rich and vivid memoir.

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