Charlotte Wells on her enigmatic and heartbreaking new drama Aftersun

When the Oscar nominations were announced last month, a lot of the usual suspects and expected contenders cropped up, but at least a couple raised an eyebrow or two.

One of the happiest surprises was the Best Actor nomination for Paul Mescal, the star of Charlotte Wells’ heartbreaking, enigmatic and very understated new drama Aftersun. In it, Paul plays a young father who takes his 11-year-old daughter Sophie on a holiday to Turkey in the late 1990s; a holiday that holds many mysteries as Sophie reflects back as an adult in the present day.

Movie Squad’s Simon Miraudo caught up with Charlotte Wells ahead of Aftersun’s premiere in Australian cinemas, to chat about the rapturous reaction to the film and its incredible, occasionally questionable needle drops.

Simon began by asking Charlotte how she knew Paul Mescal, who’s only in his mid-20s and is best known for the TV series NORMAL PEOPLE, could carry the role of Sophie’s troubled dad.