The Selfish Giant

Two scrappy 13-year-old working-class friends in Bradford seek fortune by getting involved with a local scrap dealer and criminal. An official selection at the Cannes Film Festival, The Selfish Giant is a contemporary fable about 13 year old Arbor and his best friend Swifty. Excluded from school and outsiders in their own neighborhood, the two boys meet Kitten (Sean Gilder), a local scrap dealer. Wandering their town with just a horse and a cart, they begin collecting scrap metal for him. Swifty has a natural gift with horses while Arbor emulates Kitten - keen to impress him and make some money. However, Kitten favors Swifty, leaving Arbor feeling hurt and excluded, driving a wedge between the boys. As Arbor becomes increasingly greedy and exploitative, tensions build, leading to a tragic event that transforms them all.

Keywords

  • Best Tales Adaptations
  • Cinéart: 50 Years of Great Cinema
  • Festival de Cannes
  • Festival de Cannes - Tax Shelter
  • Film Fest Gent !
  • Film Fest Gent (home)
  • economy
  • friendship

Actors

  • Shaun Thomas
  • Ian Burfield
  • Sean Gilder
  • Conner Chapman
  • Steve Evets
  • Ralph Ineson
  • Rhys McCoy
  • Lorraine Ashbourne
  • Siobhan Finneran

Director

  • Clio Barnard

Drama


1h 31min


tous publics

EN


NL

FR

United Kingdom
2013
Two scrappy 13-year-old working-class friends in Bradford seek fortune by getting involved with a local scrap dealer and criminal.

Two scrappy 13-year-old working-class friends in Bradford seek fortune by getting involved with a local scrap dealer and criminal.


An official selection at the Cannes Film Festival, The Selfish Giant is a contemporary fable about 13 year old Arbor and his best friend Swifty. Excluded from school and outsiders in their own neighborhood, the two boys meet Kitten (Sean Gilder), a local scrap dealer. Wandering their town with just a horse and a cart, they begin collecting scrap metal for him. Swifty has a natural gift with horses while Arbor emulates Kitten - keen to impress him and make some money. However, Kitten favors Swifty, leaving Arbor feeling hurt and excluded, driving a wedge between the boys. As Arbor becomes increasingly greedy and exploitative, tensions build, leading to a tragic event that transforms them all.

Festivals

Cast & Crew