It's summer on New York's Lower East Side and Victor Vargas (the excellent Rasuk) lives in a tiny apartment with his grandmother, brother and sister.

Victor sees himself as God's gift to the ladies of his neighbourhood, and goes after the prettiest girl on the block to prove his prowess.

Following initial success, the relationship begins to flounder and, in order to save it, Victor will need more than just tired pick-up lines.

Sollett has created something very rare, a triumph in naturalistic film-making.

By casting unknown kids from the neighbourhood, he took a big risk and, by ignoring the script and asking his cast to react in a way that felt natural to them, he compounded matters.

However, the result is a chemistry and energy between the characters that is reminiscent of last year's City Of God - although to compare these two fiercely original films does both a disservice.

This arrives on the back of a very successful tour of the festival circuit.

Its positive reception is unsurprising, given that Sollett's first feature is based on his short Five Feet High and Rising, which won the Best Short Film Prize at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and at Cannes.

Genuinely funny and utterly compelling, it's a comedy, a romance and a coming-of-age drama that is well worth seeking out.

David Hanson