After a neighborhood tragedy, two adolescent brothers confront changing relationships, the mystery of nature, and their own mortality.

After a neighborhood tragedy, two adolescent brothers confront changing relationships, the mystery of nature, and their own mortality. Hide Your Smiling Faces is an atmospheric exploration of rural American life through the often distorted lens of youth.—Daniel Patrick Carbone

It's the summer, and brothers, teenaged Eric and preteen Tommy, are hanging out in their rural surroundings with their respective friends participating in hijinks typical of boys their age. One day, Eric and his friend Tristan find Ian, one of Tommy's friends, dead in the woods. Beyond the social convention of providing sympathy, the brothers and their friends try to maintain their carefree lives. However, they cannot help but be affected by Ian's death, many of them thinking for the first time about the entire issue of life and death, whether it be of the smallest insect, or of humans. Tristan, in particular, confides in Eric that he has long thought about his own mortality. Eric's coping mechanisms are displayed through how he deals with Tristan's confession and subsequent request, and a long standing issue the family has had with Ian's father. Meanwhile, Tommy slowly shows how really scared he is to die like most boys his age are, while now not being able to stop thinking about it.—Huggo