Directed by Mike Ott

What exactly do we mean by ‘indie' these days? Formerly ‘indie' directors have become, if not quite Hollywood, almost mainstream, budgets are generous, or at least adequate, actors once seen as interestingly alternative are known faces, established stars queue up to play their cameos, edginess all too often becomes bland. But as every innovation becomes old hat in time, a new wave is always rising up, and at the Bradford Film Festival, the Uncharted States of America section brought genuinely independent films, made on a shoestring, by young directors and actors just finding their feet and not afraid to challenge convention, quirky, confrontational, and often hard to watch.

But of all the films I saw in this section, this one stood out as technically accomplished, mature, and engaging. A portrait of those dog-end days of teenagehood when you've finished your studies and are wanting to be off - somewhere, anywhere - and wondering if the friendships you've had over the last few years and all your old familiar places do actually mean as much to you as they may seem to now. A group of young people, most of them about to leave college and maybe home and each other, hang out and communicate - or not - about life, the world, what they will do, what they believe.

Ott knows how to use locations - the dead end scrubby meeting place by the bridge that may or may not lead somewhere interesting, the boozy dull parties where nothing happens, where you can almost smell the stale beer and sweat. And his subtle camera is complemented by fine work from his young actors: Ivy Kahn as Tammy, sensible, sensitive and unassuming, looking into the yawning gap of her future with some dismay, and Brett Tinnes as the politically right-on college drop-out Jordan, a young man full of ideas about what is right but not so hot on practicalities. Then there's the silent Lloyd (Chad Cunningham), hiding a facial blemish behind his hair - all three bemused and seemingly powerless in the face of an indifferent America in thrall to the superficial and the hate messages of right wing politicians. A warning to them all not to let life pass them by is Fenster, nicely played by Ryan Johnsen, a plump 30-year-old who has never got away and still hangs around joshing with the younger people.

It's warm and wryly sad, but also with some laugh-out-loud moments, including a satirical classroom scene where pretentious art cinema is ironically exposed. A clever structure unexpectedly brings even more understanding and empathy by the end. Yes, believe me, Mike Ott is a name we shall see a great deal more of.

Seen at Bradford Film Festival, 23 March 2007