In The Julia Set, Julia’s (Chase Infiniti) prowess for mathematics is noticed by teaching assistant, Pascal (Christopher Briney) who invites her to join a group of math geniuses preparing for a notoriously difficult mathematics exam. Julia and Pascal begin a relationship, but soon the stress of the exam, exacerbated by pressure from Pascal’s genius father takes a toll on them.
The contrast between Julia and Pascal’s upbringings are evident in their attitudes towards the opportunities that come their way, with one flippantly holding and simultaneously cracking under the expectation of success, and the other needing a push to take a hold of those opportunities for herself. At the start of the film, Julia is unsure of herself and downplays her own gift so as not to overshadow her special needs brother which leads her to put up with a lot of things she shouldn’t. Throughout the film, various characters are shown to only be seen as helpers for others, resigning them to playing in the background of other’s lives to keep the peace. This is a path that Julia starts down, which makes you want to shake her awake. Ultimately, her path to success is aided by people around her who believe in her and care about her as more than a mathematician, especially a character who does not want what happened to her to repeat itself. Her journey is one of owning her strengths and allowing them to shine.
Writer/Director, Niki Byrne’s film is one its audience will love, especially younger audiences, given the cast (which also includes Chloe Bailey). It is one I hope inspires them to push past anything that might try to limit them.
The Julia Set is playing at TIFF ’26. For more information, click here.
