The directorial debut of Manuela Viegas, Glória is half a rites-of-passage tale and half a valedictory to a rural way of life in Portugal that is condemned to disappear.

Once a bustling trade centre for contraband, the small border town of Vila de Santiago is in decline. A new motorway is to bypass the town, the railway station is being closed and its stationmaster, Vicente, set to retire. Many young people have moved out, leaving the children, including streetwise 13-year-old Glória, to be brought up by the older townsfolk. A dreary, drizzly autumn has come on.

Glória's life is suddenly shaken up by the arrival of Vicente's 12-year-old son Ivan, and Vicente's brother Mauro, who has just come out of prison and is back to settle some old scores.