Lola in the Mirror

Set in the back streets of hard-scrabble, dangerously unpredictable Brisbane, Dalton’s (Boy Swallows Universe) harrowing latest tells the story of a nameless girl who has spent the past 16 years on the run with their mother. Having fled the girl’s violently abusive father, the mother and daughter live in an orange 1987 Toyota HiAce van marooned in a junkyard. There, they balance evasion with survival. When a tragic accident takes the girl’s mother from her, she enters the orbit of a shady seafood shop owner named Flora Box and begins selling drugs. As the girl seeks a better life, she is haunted by the image of Lola, a mysterious figure who may be the only one who can help her break out of this work and follow her dreams. Australian actor Victoria Graves narrates, offering a raw, emotional performance that communicates the weight of the protagonist’s hopes and struggles. Graves’s intimate narration reflects the grittily poetic tone of Dalton’s text, which sensitively explores the girl’s traumatic past while offering a glimmer of hope for her future.