March 2024

FILM INFO:  87 minutes, UK, 2023, IFCO Cert: CLUB

Language: English

British Nigerian filmmaker Adura Onashile's intimate feature length debut explores the bond between a mother and daughter resettling in Glasgow. Single mother Grace (Déborah Lukuemena) and her 11 year old daughter Ama (Le’Shantey Bonsu) have built a protective shield from within, guarding themselves from the outside world. Ama’s approaching adolescence and growing curiosity set off reminders of a past that Grace does not wish to remember.

As Grace struggles to keep her job and deal with the intrusion of social services, she fears her daughter’s burgeoning independence and the loss of their protective, isolated existence.

The weight of Grace’s traumatic past has the potential to unmoor both mother and daughter.

To give them both a chance to heal, Grace must let Ama grow up.

Festivals:

Sundance Film Festival 2023

Glasgow Film Festival 2023

Galway Film Fleadh 2023

BFI London Film Festival 2023

Quotes:

“An accomplished but unshowy debut feature from Onashile”

Guy Lodge, Variety

“a rewarding study of alienation that refracts the immigrant experience through a refreshingly different lens."

Damon Wise, Deadline, Sundance review