Colm Bairéad’s beautifully understated feature debut finds a young girl coming to terms with loss and the importance of family in rural Ireland.

Nine-year-old Cait (Catherine Clinch) is neglected by her pregnant mother, boorish father and louder siblings. At school, she feels ignored. But things change when her father takes her to live with in-laws for the summer. Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) and her farmer husband Seán (Andrew Bennett) take Cait in to alleviate her parent’s financial woes. At first, Cait feels a little intimidated by her new environment, though she soon finds freedom in this new world along with the attention she so desperately needs. But even as this new home becomes an idyll for her, Cait senses that something is plaguing her new foster parents. There is unspoken grief that exists in the house, one that Eibhlín and Seán never discuss, but which Cait’s youthful curiosity begins to uncover…

Bairéad’s Irish-language film is understated in both its visual style and the subtlety of the unfolding drama - it manages to be thoughtful, still and quiet, yet speak in high volumes.

• Screenings of The Quiet Girl on Wed 25 May are part of our Cinébites deal: get 30% off any main dish in the Café & Bar with a valid cinema ticket.