British writer-director Luna Carmoon draws on her own life for this visceral psychological drama that won her the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature at BFI London Film Festival 2023.
Seven-year-old Maria’s South East London childhood with her mother Cynthia, an obsessive hoarder, feels sparkling and magical until tragedy separates them and Maria enters a more conventional world. Years later, the now-teenage Maria seeks to reconnect with her mother the only way she knows how – bin-dipping for discarded treasures and collecting black bags full of festering garbage. When she meets Michael, another troubled teen, they develop an intense and animalistic bond.
Carmoon’s audacious, bracingly unusual feature debut announces her as a talent to watch. Powered by committed performances from its terrific cast, it tells a fierce, uncompromising and emotional story about a young woman’s burgeoning sexuality and her queasy reckoning with grief and a traumatic past.
Event/ This special preview screening will be followed by a Q&A with writer-director Luna Carmoon and producer Loran Dunn.
Hoard screens on general release from Fri 17 May