Marking her long-awaited return to fiction filmmaking, Andrea Arnold’s tender and surprising coming-of-age fable heralds an astounding debut from newcomer Nykiya Adams. Buoyed by spirited turns from Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski, Bird leaps from overlooked fringes of life toward sky-high dreams.

Set to pulsing electronic music, Thomas Hardiman’s short experiments with the audibility of onscreen dialogue and accompanying captions to present a unique, energizing take on a meet-cute romance. Among the film’s noted fans is Lynne Ramsay, who programmed it for a series of “electric shorts.”