Between Summers

Romana
Lanfranconi

(1980, Switzerland) Selected filmography: Siblings (Geschwisterkinder, 2019), Our Special Brothers (Unsere besonderen brüder, 2020), Loneliness Has Many Faces (Einsamkeit hat viele gesichter, 2021), Mirror Images (Spiegelbilder, 2024)

At a Swiss outdoor pool known as a “Badi,” Mia, Tiana, Yamely, Fatma, Mauro, and Davide spend carefree summer days with friends. The documentary follows their transformation over two years, from carefree moments to a time when they begin to understand themselves and the world around them more clearly. Through playful scenes and authentic, at times deeply personal reflections, their dreams, ideas, experiences, and doubts come to light. What seems like an ordinary summer gradually reveals the depth of growing up. The demolition of the old orange slide, along with the site’s modernization, becomes a symbolic end of childhood. The film captures the unique atmosphere of Swiss swimming pools and the moment when things that once felt certain begin to change.