Mauricio, a lifeguard on a Chilean beach, considers himself to be a model of efficiency and professionalism. His colleagues, however, think otherwise, and speculate on why he never goes into the water. Maite Alberdi's visually gorgeous feature documentary debut has the intensity of a short story; beginning as a quirky character study of lifeguards and beachgoers, it becomes something altogether darker and more shocking when events take a dramatic turn.

Chile, 1955. The case of María Carolina Geel, a popular writer who murders her lover, captivates Mercedes, a shy secretary working for the judge assigned to defend the accused.

For sixty years, Maria Teresa and her high school friends have been meeting for monthly tea in Santiago. As a maid quietly keeps cups and plates filled, the genteel women pray, then talk about their ailments, their husbands, and the rapidly changing world around them. Director Maite Alberdi keeps a tight focus on the food and the friends' faces, as they listen to each other's stories, gently tease, and reminisce. Gradually their personalities emerge, and over four years of filming, we come to know them individually, understanding their differences and senses of humour. As their number dwindles, their friendship group takes on even more significance. A deceptively simple construct, Tea Time in fact works on several levels, not least as a journey into the little seen world of upper middle class Chile, and, most memorably, as a moving love letter to female friendship.

Adults, but seldom treated as such: that's the dilemma facing this group of friends with Down syndrome, in this warm and compassionate documentary.
When we first meet Anita, she's justifiably frustrated with her boring kitchen job and overprotective parents – she's been attending the same school for 40 years. Things start to look up when she begins a romance with the courteous Andrés and the loving duo dream of doing what everyone else does, including marriage and having a family. Their friend Ricardo works part-time and also has plans for the future. The school encourages its mature students to be responsible adults, but do they really have any say in their future? This is not a sombre film – it's full of joy and intimacy, a recurring quality in the work of talented Chilean director Maite Alberdi (Tea Time, SFF 2015).
A fascinating parade of strong characters – feisty Anita, entrepreneurial Ricardo, suave Andres, and Rita, "smarter than your average bear" each confronting a series of touching challenges as Alberdi looks at lives lived under neverending restraint. – Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International