A »scrapper« may embody improvisational determination and a fighting spirit in the face of adversity. Other meanings refer to dealing with bits of scrap, collecting unwanted items, or, like scrapbooking, a form of memory bricolage – preserving, archiving. 12-year-old Georgie exemplifies scrappiness to the core as she maneuvers through a tough situation following her mother’s death. Living alone on the outskirts of London, she cleverly manages to fend for herself using creative methods to keep social services and her grief at bay. She invents an imaginary guardian, »Uncle Winston Churchill«, and sustains herself by selling stolen bikes with her friend Ali. To cope with her unexpressed grief, she builds a magical scrap-metal memorial tower in her mother’s room. When a man claiming to be her father, Jason, turns up unexpectedly, Georgie’s independent routine is upended.

What starts as a test of her resolve evolves into a freshly charming father-daughter story. With a real knack for comedic timing, Lola Campbell superbly balances all the potential emotional worlds of a child on the cusp of snarky teendom, grappling with the unfamiliar weight of bereavement. Director Charlotte Regan adopts a cinematic »scrapper« style herself, nodding to the grit of Kitchen Sink Realism, while tempering with humour, heart, and soul – a blend that garnered her the Grand Prize at Sundance. Cinematographer Molly Manning Walker (Cannes winner, How to Have Sex) serves up punchy bright images, securing the »scrappy« film’s formal inventiveness.