On Falling
On Falling is a 2024 social realist drama film, written and directed by Laura Carreira and starring Joana Santos. A British-Portuguese co-production, the film is Carreira's debut feature.
Plot
Set in Scotland, the plot follows the plight of Portuguese in [the United Kingdom|Portuguese immigrant] and warehouse worker Aurora, trapped in a life governed by wage slavery and social isolation and its repercussions, leading to her emotional breakdown.Production
The film is a British-Portuguese co-production by Sixteen Films and Bro Cinema, and it had support from BFI, BBC Film, Screen Scotland and. It was the feature film debut for Carreira, previously known for her shorts The Shift and Red Hill.Release
On Falling had its world premiere at the 2024 [Toronto International Film Festival] as part of its Discovery programme. It was presented at the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival on 24 September 2024, in competition for the Golden Shell; Carreira took the award for Best Director at the festival. It featured in the First Feature Competition of the BFI London Film Festival">British Film Institute">BFI London Film Festival. where it was awarded the Sutherland prize for Best First Feature.Conic acquired UK and Ireland distribution rights, and released it theatrically on 7 March 2025. It also landed a distributor in the Benelux, former Yugoslavia, Greece, Middle East, Spain, and Switzerland.
Reception
Critical response
of The Guardian rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a very impressive debut".Matthew Joseph Jenner of International Cinephile Society rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, writing that it "conveys a very clear message and delivers it with genuine affection and attention to detail, which is important for a story that carries such resonance".
Fionnuala Halligan of ScreenDaily pointed out how the film grows to become "an intense, enveloping experience".
Sophie Monks Kaufman of IndieWire gave the film an 'A-' rating, deeming it to be "far better than anything living-political-legend Loach made during the final innings of his career".
David Katz of Cineuropa declared the film "laudably a protest film clamouring for a better way of life, but it still evokes a story's first act mistaken for a whole feature".