Characters shouldn’t be talking about the past or the future. They should be dealing with the present.
— http://scriptshadow.net/10-screenwriting-tips-im-thankful-for/
The reason this works is that scenes live on tension, and tension only exists right now. A character explaining what happened last year or worrying about next week is narrating instead of experiencing, and narration drains urgency from a scene. Say two siblings are cleaning out their late mother's house. Instead of one telling the other about childhood memories, have them argue over who keeps the piano while movers wait outside and the truck meter runs. The past leaks out through what they fight over, not through summary. The caution: strip away backstory entirely and characters become mysteries without weight, reacting to nothing. A little history, revealed through present friction rather than speeches, keeps the moment grounded without stalling it.
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