Following his mother’s death, troubled teenager Nahuel (Lautaro Bettoni) spins his grief into acts of fiery aggression—acts that force him to swap his Buenos Aires home for the desolate Patagonian farm belonging to his father Ernesto (German Palacios) and his new family. The situation makes for chilly tensions that only time—and a willingness to truly connect—can thaw.

Winner of the Venice Critics’ Week Audience Award, Natalia Garagiola’s feature debut exudes emotional intelligence, particularly with regards to prickly masculine codes. The film benefits enormously from Garagiola’s close attention to her actors: Bettoni’s Nahuel roils with the inner torment of adolescence, while Palacios movingly uncovers the vulnerability underneath Ernesto’s taciturn comportment. Hunting Season may have a gruff exterior, but it’ll hit you in the heart.