Best friends can have a truly special meaning, especially in youth when kids spend all their time together and don’t have a greater world with which to interact. But as time passes, their paths will likely diverge at least in small ways, testing the strength of their bond as they no longer do everything together or feel the same way about so much in their lives. Extra Geography begins at that high point where its protagonists operate practically in sync, blissfully unaware that their relationship will soon be put to the test since they aren’t the same, much as their shared interests and affinity for each other might suggest.
Flic (Marni Duggan) and Minna (Galaxie Clear) are inseparable, moving through their boarding school as if they own the place, dismissing poor third wheel Phoebe (Aoife Riddell) when she’s sitting alone at a desk for two so that they can sit together and open their notebooks in unison. They decide on a shared summer project, to fall in love, picking their geography teacher Miss Delavigne (Alice Englert) as the subject of their eventual affection. Their shared trajectory begins to fracture when they audition for the summer play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Minna’s high-profile role prompts considerable jealousy and brewing resentment from Flic, who redirects all her energy into her slow, awkward seduction of their teacher.
Filmmaker Molly Manners makes her feature directorial debut with a screenplay by Miriam Battye based on the short story of the same name by Rose Tremain. This is a film of many firsts, marking the first film roles for both of its stars. They couldn’t be a better pair, firing dialogue back and forth as if they’ve known each other forever and playing up the way that they seem to be able to sense what the other is thinking before they speak. Duggar and Clear are both so natural on screen and feel so comfortable, and it’s remarkable to watch them as they begin doing things separately and realizing for the first time the ways in which they’re not alike.
The entirety of this film takes place at this boarding school where students wear the same uniforms each day, and it’s only when they start to try on costumes for the play or get to stay over for the holiday break that we start to see them looking any different, standing out more without the same clothing as every other student. That doesn’t much contribute to conflict, though Flic is quite pissed about being cast as a tree/mound, and the costume she has to wear is certainly less flattering than what Minna dons to become queen of the fairies. The subtleties that indicate individuality are eye-opening, and that also applies to a prickly subject these two best friends initially agree they both don’t like before they encounter them doing the play: boys.
Englert is back at Sundance following her feature directorial debut Bad Behaviour in 2023, and her performance is considerably more subdued and full of quiet innocence, completely obvious to what these two girls are doing and why Flic has taken such an unusual interest in everything to do with New Zealand. That attitude and her blending into the background helps these two young performers to shine in a story that will surely feel relatable to anyone who has had a friendship go through waves and change unexpectedly, hopeless to return to what it used to be but without the ability to pinpoint a specific tipping-off point where a new reality set in. Manners has made a sweet, delightful film full of personality and wittiness, and she and her two stars are sure to go far after this.
Movie Rating: 8/10
Extra Geography premieres in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
