Set in rural Sweden in the 1970s, this film is a curious and intimate portrayal of childhood in a time gone by.

Part of the Cinema of Childhood Festival in the Brighton Festival, this beautifully shot film follows Josephine, a lonely but adventurous five-year-old who is largely ignored by her family.

She meets precocious Hugo when he plays with her family’s gardener, a friendly character. Hugo and Josephine strike up a friendship and have fun, in contrast to the bullying Josephine receives at school. When Hugo turns up at school one day, Josephine is thrilled to prove that she does actually have a friend and a fun one too.

The film is shot in close-up, focused on the children with the adults on the outside, not really part of the action. The children are in their own world, highlighting their lack of power and control, and people come and go with seemingly little explanation.

Watching as a parent, it is a little uncomfortable to see scenes with a child playing with an adult who is not their parent – although the games are innocent, our view of the scenes are tainted by modern-day obsessions.

The themes of loss and friendship in childhood loom large in this beautiful film, which is also joyful in its depiction of how children live in the moment.