In present-day Texas, Maya (Tallie Medel) and her on-again, off-again girlfriend Jules (Betsy Holt) total their car after a night of backwoods raving and teen mischief. They’re rescued from the wreckage by Freddy (Robert Longstreet), a divorced oil worker whose stoic facade crumbles as he comes to see himself, and his repressed desires, in Maya. As Jules recovers, Maya and Freddy develop a rapport that dulls the debilitating silence of their small-town lives. JULES OF LIGHT AND DARK is Daniel Laabs’ first feature, a moving examination of queer loneliness and uncertainty.

Q&A with director Daniel Laabs and star Tallie Medel to follow.