Two Oglala Lakota boys eke out a hardscrabble life on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, in Gina Gammell and Riley Keough’s arresting debut feature, a deserving winner of the top prize in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar. At 23, Bill (Jojo Bapteise Whiting) just wants to make something of himself; whether it’s siphoning gas, delivering goods, or breeding poodles, he is determined to hustle his way to a better life. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Matho (LaDainian Crazy Thunder) can’t wait to become a man. Desperate for approval from his young father, a series of impulsive decisions turn Matho’s life upside down, and he finds himself unequipped to deal with the harsh realities of the adult world. With respect and authenticity, Gammell and Keough depict life on the margins of society, where a proud indigenous community has been fatally undermined by poverty, drug abuse, and criminality.

There will be Open Captioned screenings on Saturday 10th at 13.20 and Thursday 15th at 18.00.

Notes by David O’Mahony.