History repeats itself in this ingenious but surprisingly heartfelt sci-fi, which takes the premise of Groundhog Day and fashions from it a poignant statement about life and mortality. Refreshingly for the genre, it focuses on a middle-aged woman - a scientist-slash-physicist, even - whose 55th birthday and final breath will occur within the same week. But though there is an element of resistance to the latter, Omni Loop is unusual in that it isn't simply about breaking the cycle; Bernardo Britto's film is about facing the inevitable, gently phasing out the genre elements to reach an understated but emotional climax.

Zoya Lowe, when we first meet her, is a little girl who, a voiceover tells us, is predicted "to do incredible things one day" and "change the world". The next time we see her, Zoya is now played by Mary-Louise Parker and things are not so positive: X-rays show a black hole growing between her longs, and the doctors are speculating that she has "maybe another week". Zoya's family make their best efforts for her, taking her to the beach and holding a surprise birthday party, while Zoya keeps to her own beat, making plans to finish up her latest and last science book and visiting her mother in old folks' home.