A music video-like montage flits between the unkempt buzz of England’s Glastonbury Festival and the more relaxed vibe of the South of France in this excerpt of 28-year-old director Alexandra McGuinness’ first feature, Lotus Eaters. Antonia Campbell Hughes stars as aspirant actress Alice, the love interest of drug-addled Charlie, played by actor and folk troubadour Johnny Flynn, and Benn Northover’s character Felix in a narrative that puts the life of London’s wasted and well-off youth under the microscope. “That year at Glastonbury was incredibly hot,” remembers McGuinness of shooting the scene that is soundtracked by LA-based outfit Los Super Elegantes. “We had no permission, we just winged it and followed Antonia around, pushing and pulling her when there was a good shot.” The choice to make the film in black and white has led to some likening its style to that of Jean-Luc Godard, but McGuinness was more inspired by 1980s fashion magazines than the French New Wave. “I was influenced by the photography of Peter Lindbergh, Helmut Newton and Bruce Weber,” the filmmaker says. “We steered away from any noir references. Shooting in black and white was about rooting the film somewhere between the past and the present.”

Lotus Eaters premieres at Curzon Soho, London on March 28 before playing at New York’s Village East Cinema from April 5 and LA’s Arena Cinema from April 12.