Pin Cushion

Dir. Deborah Haywood | UK 2018 | 81 min | 15

British writer/director Deborah Haywood’s debut feature tells the heartbreaking yet charming story of a mother and daughter who struggle to escape bullies, and the terrible strain it puts on them and their relationship.

Eccentric single mum Lyn (Joanna Scanlan, on top form) and lonely teen Iona (Lily Newmark) move to a small Midlands town hoping for a fresh new start. As Iona desperately tries to fit in at her new school she becomes an unknowing scapegoat for the popular girls and attempts to distance herself from Lyn, whose hunchback and dress sense make her an easy target for mockery. As a rift grows between the once tight-knit pair, they retreat further into their own respective fantasy worlds, with disastrous consequences.

Achingly fragile and genuinely peculiar, this is a heartbreaking and charming story full of dark and unexpected twists. A brilliant debut from a talent to watch.

Tickets: £7.75 adult / £6 concession (inc. Poly Fund)