The debut film for this 29-year-old director, with performances by Lola Campbell, Harris Dickinson and Alin Uzan, Scrapper premiered at the 2023  Sundance Film Festival.

Following the death of her mother, the central character, 12-year-old Georgie, secretly lives by herself in a flat on the outskirts of East London. Pretending to social services that she lives with her uncle, ''Winston Churchill," Georgie steals bikes in order to buy food, gets into fights, and generally survives on her wits. Her secret is known only to her best friend, Ali, until the unexpected (and unwelcome) arrival of her estranged father, Jason, who had been working at an Ibiza nightclub and insists on moving into the flat.
The film traces shifts in her friendship with Ali and the complexities of her relationship with her father as she learns more about him.

Charlotte Regan, who admired Taiko Waititi's 2010 film Boy, set out to make an ‘imperfect film that took risks’. Its visual whimsy, humour, and Georgie’s flights of fantasy, soften the grimness of her story. Described by one critic on Rotten Tomatoes (where it scored 7.1/10) as the cinematic equivalent of a hug, this is a charming film to launch our 2024 program.

London Indie Comedy-Drama
UK, 2023, 84 min.  Dir: Charlotte Regan. Dist: Madman Films.

This event is produced by the Ballarat Film Society - entry by membership (available at the door)