September Says

Sisters July and September are inseparable yet fiercely different—September is protective and deeply distrustful of outsiders, while July is open and curious about the world. Their intense dynamic is a constant worry for their single mother, Sheela, who is at a loss as to how to handle them. When September is suspended from school, July is forced to fend for herself and begins to claim her own independence.

Tensions among the three women escalate when they seek refuge in an old holiday cottage in Ireland. In this isolation, July watches her bond with September shift in ways she can neither fully comprehend nor control, as a series of surreal encounters tests the family to its absolute limits.

Director Ariane Labed based her uncanny debut on Daisy Johnson’s psychological novel Sisters. She seamlessly blends gritty British-Irish realism with the atmosphere of a gothic fairytale and psychological horror, delivering a portrait of symbiotic sisterly love that is both tender and brutal. The result is a poignant genre mix that masterfully balances pitch-black humor with deep grief.