In contemporary Iceland, a wayward 9-year old girl, Sól, is sent to distant countryside relatives for a summer to work and to mature. Nature seems endless, the animals soulful but the people harsh. All except the mysterious farmhand Jón, who – as Sól herself – likes words better than people. But the farmers’ daughter Ásta has a claim on Jón as well, and soon Sól becomes entangled in a drama she hardly can grasp. Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir’s debut feature film “The Swan” – an adaptation of the critically acclaimed Icelandic novel of the same name -, had its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. It is a complex, and nuanced tale of a child's growth that also indirectly charts a nation's maturation.