John Hibbert, Media and Film Studies Subject Advisor

Ahead of the introduction of Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, UK, 2022) to our A Level Film Studies specification in September 2026, I’ll look at some approaches to the film in relation to the required subject content. 

Wells’ debut feature, which focuses on memories of a childhood holiday, was widely praised and earned both BAFTA and Oscar nominations. Both Sight and Sound and The Guardian acclaimed it as the best film of 2022. 

It’s an incredibly rich film for analysis and lends itself well to study in relation to the focus of the Contemporary British and US Film topic.

Representations and film form

Aftersun allows for the analysis of a range of different representations, including of:

• gender
• age 
• sexuality 
• mental health
• family. 

Film form is key to constructing these representations of course and can be explored in relation to the representation of Calum. This is created from the perspective of Sophie’s memories of him, underpinned by the footage she shoots on the DV-cam. 

Throughout the film, the way Calum is shot creates a sense of him being slightly at a distance and somewhat unknowable. He is often shown with his back to the camera or framed in a way that obscures him.

Representations and film form – key sequence analysis

This is perhaps most apparent in the scene where Sophie asks him about being eleven. The sequence unfolds as a three-minute single take static shot of the television screen which initially plays the camcorder footage Sophie is filming of her dad. This emphasises the sense of distance from Calum, adding another layer between him and his memory. 

When Sophie asks him about being eleven, he responds by making her turn the camcorder off and turning the television off, suggesting his attempt to hide or repress his troubled childhood. 

The framing of the shot as Calum talks about his eleventh birthday emphasises this sense of him being unknown. As she asks the question, he is no longer in focus suggesting the haziness of memory and perhaps implying adult Sophie is unsure of the details of what he said in this conversation. 

This use of cinematography in relation to Calum can be linked to the representation of masculinity, and stereotypical ideas that men are more emotionally closed off. The stigma around mental health issues can also be linked to Calum’s distanced portrayal. Wells has also suggested that the use of cinematography is intended to suggest Calum is being constructed from Sophie’s perspective, with scenes where he is alone being imagined by her. 

Wells notes in the Aftersun press kit: 

‘Calum is often obstructed from full view, shot from behind, shot at a distance. This is the arm’s length we tried to keep him at to help convey that these scenes are in some way imagined. Sophie wasn’t there, yet here we are alone with Calum’ (p.5).

Representations and narrative

Narrative clearly underpins the construction of representations in Aftersun. The fragmented, non-linear narrative structure which moves back and forth through time establishes memory as the foundation of the representation of Calum. 

A key feature of this is the position of adult Sophie as the narrative point of view. Wells notes in the Aftersun press kit: 

‘Our 35mm production camera captures Adult Sophie watching footage shot by Calum of her younger self. For me, situating adult Sophie opposite the television at the end acknowledges her as the film’s overarching point of view while drawing together in a single shot the others we have experienced throughout.’ (p.6) 

Representations and narrative – key sequence analysis 

The opening sequence quickly establishes the film as memory through the sound effect of the DV-cam. It uses elements taken from the end of the holiday as well as from during it. This allows for interesting analysis of the role of narrative structure in shaping the film and its representations. 

The opening sequence includes part of the scene where Sophie asks Calum about being eleven which, along with the intercutting of glimpses of adult Sophie in the rave scene, all work to introduce the film’s key themes and representations. This can then be considered in the context of the circularity with the ending.

Representations and genre

In terms of genre, Aftersun can be classified as a drama and more specifically a coming-of-age drama. As an independent film that can be situated in the context of arthouse cinema, genre could be seen as less significant to the film’s structure and its construction of representations. Despite this, considering the film’s representations in relation to the coming-of-age genre offers a useful perspective. 

Wells noted in an interview with Mubi that ‘the coming-of-age arc… was always very clear, and it was never problematic, or difficult to understand…it was legible because we’re very used to seeing that type of story onscreen.’ 

The familiarity of the genre meant that this aspect of the film and the significance of the teenagers and Michael is clear to the audience. This offers an effective way to approach the role of genre in creating representations of age, gender and sexuality in relation to the coming-of-age film. 

The film focuses on Sophie at the point of moving from childhood to adolescence, encapsulated in the scene where Calum encourages to her talk to the younger children and she wants to hang out with the teenagers. Wells points to the coming of age ‘arc with the teens and Michael and some sense of a burgeoning awareness of body and sexuality’. This encompasses scenes such as Sophie’s first kiss and eavesdropping on the teenage girls as they talk about boys. 

Aftersun has been described as ‘the rare coming-of-age movie about a queer kid who doesn’t yet understand that queerness’. Her first kiss with Michael and her interest in the teenage boys can be seen to reflect her identity being guided by heteronormativity and the norms of late 1990s society. The scene where she sees two of the teenage boys kissing is a subtle moment of disruption of this, pointing to adult Sophie’s queer identity. 

Ultimately, Aftersun subtly challenges the genre and the notion of coming of age. Sophie’s identity at the end of the film is still unformed, and the film suggests the distance between the eleven-year-old Sophie and the adult she becomes. While it can be described as a coming-of-age film, it’s one in which the protagonist doesn’t really come of age, suggesting those key moments of transition are in Sophie’s future. 

Key sequence analysis – ‘Under Pressure’

The climactic rave scene set to ‘Under Pressure’ by David Bowie and Queen is incredibly rich for the analysis of how film form, narrative and genre are used to construct representations. 

Intercutting between Calum and Sophie dancing at the end of their holiday with the rave scene crystallises the representation of Sophie’s grief. It also positions Sophie’s relationship with Calum at eleven in the context of adult Sophie’s more complex perspective. Underpinning this is adult Sophie’s governing narrative perspective, and the fragmentary narrative structure which blends the past and the present. This all contributes to the film’s exploration of mental health issues and family relationships, and the representation of Sophie as an adult and as a child. 

The sequence also can be seen to subtly challenge the narrative conventions of the coming-of-age film. As the emotional climax of the film, the dance Sophie and Calum share at the end of the holiday is significant just as a moment of joy between the two characters, rather than as moment that changes anything for Sophie. The use of editing to link this moment to the rave scene and adult Sophie again emphasises that at eleven Sophie’s identity is still very much unformed.

Autuerism

Aftersun lends itself particularly well to discussions of auteurism and the evaluation of its validity. It can clearly be argued that Charlotte Wells can be seen as an auteur. She has described the film as being ‘emotionally autobiographical’ in an interview with Variety, and it expands on the themes explored in her short film Tuesday about the loss of her father as a teenager. Her 2017 short Blue Christmas explores issues of family dynamics and the impact of mental health which can also be found in Aftersun. In addition to thematic links with Aftersun, Wells’ short films are stylistically consistent employing an understated, observational style of filmmaking. 

While Aftersun can be used to explore the idea of the director as the auteur, it allows for rich discussion of film as a collaborative medium to challenge the validity of the auteur theory. The contribution of a range of other creative personnel can be explored to support this, including the cinematographer, editor, composer and actors. 

Wells discusses the contribution of cinematographer Greg Oke in the Mubi interview, and in an interview with Sight and Sound considers specific contributions from editor Blair McClendon and actors Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio. She comments interestingly on how aspects of Calum’s character are ‘a result of the confluence between what I wrote, how Gregory [Oke, the cinematographer] shoots, and the performance’.

Digital technology and viewing conditions – production technology

While most of Aftersun was shot on 35mm, one interesting approach to considering the significance of digital technology to film is the use of the DV-cams to shoot footage. The use of handheld digital camcorders allowed the actors to shoot footage which creates a sense of realism and reflects the significance of home video footage to memory. 

An interesting approach to viewing conditions is to consider the different experience of engaging with this type of footage on a cinema screen or on a home viewing platform. Does the increased scale of the cinema screen help make this footage seem more filmic, or does the footage fit more naturally on television screens or mobile devices? 

Similarly, the ‘Under Pressure’ sequence is an interesting one to consider in relation to viewing conditions. Cinema viewing may allow for the fragmented images in the dark of the nightclub to be more visible and land with more power, but home viewing allows the spectator the option of pausing and even replaying the sequence to help make sense of it. 

Other uses of digital technology to explore could include its use in digital sound mixing. The combination of different sound elements clearly has an impact on the spectator experience. The version of ‘Under Pressure’ used in the climactic scene remixes the song and adds a cello to create an ominous effect. Again, this can be linked to viewing conditions. With much of the impact of the sequence derived from the use of sound, how might the viewing experience change depending on the format used to watch the film? 

Digital technology and viewing conditions – distribution

The impact of digital technology can also be considered in relation to the distribution of the film. Aftersun was distributed in the Digital Cinema Package format, the industry standard for digital distribution and projection in cinema. Digital distribution helps independent films to reach audiences, illustrated by Aftersun being shown on 218 screens in the UK at the point of its widest release. 

The emergence of streaming platforms focused on arthouse cinema also suggests the importance of digital distribution for independent films. After theatrical distribution in the UK, Aftersun was made available to stream on Mubi, a platform focused on arthouse and world cinema. The emergence of niche streaming platforms helps independent films connect with their audience. 

The subsequent availability of Aftersun on BBC iPlayer and Netflix demonstrates how VOD platforms can allow independent films to reach wider audiences. How audiences engage with films on streaming platforms can be considered in relation to the impact of viewing conditions.

Contexts – institutional 

The institutional context of Aftersun lends itself to discussion of funding constraints and opportunities. Aftersun was financed by BBC Film, the British Film Institute, Creative Scotland and Tango. 

The nature of the film’s production context means its budget was comparatively small. Despite this, the film exemplifies the role of public funding for film through organisations like the BFI and Creative Scotland, and the opportunity they provide to support the production of smaller scale, personal narratives like Aftersun. Wells noted in an interview with Variety: ‘I feel very fortunate that I come from a place where there is a national funding body and there is robust support for debuts and early stage filmmakers’. 

Contexts – social, cultural, political and historical 

Other useful contexts to explore include considering the social, cultural and political contexts of the historical late 1990s setting, in contrast to the contemporary contexts in which the film was made and where the perspective of adult Sophie is situated. 

Contrasting historical and contemporary attitudes to sexual identity and mental health both offer useful ways of approaching this. Calum’s struggles with mental health are never explicitly stated in the film, reflecting the greater taboo around this at the time. Similarly, the cultural context of the late 1990s is shown as one where heterosexuality is assumed and performed and something which Sophie is shown as conforming to, with queer sexuality represented as something which must be hidden. 

The film contains multiple cultural references which reflect the 1990s setting, including through the soundtrack, the arcade games, and its depiction of technology. While Sophie and Calum use the DV-camera, the film also reflects the relative absence of technology in daily life. How this absence of technology impacts on memory is in an interesting way to consider this cultural context in relation to the films’ themes. Wells has commented in an interview with The Guardian that previous generations had less opportunities to document the people the in their lives. The fragmented structure of the film reflects the fragmentary nature of the videos Sophie has of her father. 

In conclusion 

I hope this blog offers some helpful suggestions on how to approach Aftersun in relation to the required teaching content for this topic. If you have any questions about teaching the film, please do get in touch.

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About the author

John Hibbert has been Subject Advisor for Media and Film Studies since 2018. Prior to joining OCR John taught a range of media and film studies qualifications in secondary schools and was a head of department for eight years. Predictably, in his spare time he is a keen filmgoer, and in addition enjoys reading and miserable indie music.