Sisters

Sisters, directed by Luke Neher and Sam Gill, is a haunting and dark exploration of grief, guilt, and the inescapable complexities of sibling relationships. Winner of an Honourable Mention, the film feels like a surreal dream, part psychological horror, part black comedy.

The story follows Jacqui and Leia, played by Jessica Sofarnos and Isabelle Ford, two sisters reunited after the death of their mother. Tasked with deciding whether to sell their family home, their week together unearths far more than practical concerns. Leia insists that Jacqui learn to communicate with the dead, blurring the line between supernatural belief and emotional denial. What unfolds is a layered narrative about how grief manifests, through absurdity, denial, and the ache of unspoken truths.

Neher and Gill’s direction is both confident and experimental, merging the precision of psychological storytelling with the looseness of dream logic. The film’s striking editing, sound design, and score is incredible, and each vignette feels meticulously crafted yet spontaneous, weaving together moments of intimacy and absurdity that mirror the emotional turbulence of loss. The use of sounds, such as whispers, hums, and fragmented voices, becomes its own form of communication, capturing eerie liminality between the living and the dead.

The performances from Sofarnos and Ford are remarkable, particularly in their restraint. The sisters’ chemistry oscillates between tenderness and hostility, creating a dynamic that feels painfully real. The dialogue is sparse but loaded, and the silences speak just as loudly, a reflection of the tension that defines so many sibling bonds.

Visually and emotionally, Sisters operates like a séance, summoning not ghosts, but memories and regrets. It’s a film that understands how grief can distort reality and how family, even at its most broken, remains hauntingly inescapable.