Scarborough (2021)

Scarborough is the film adaptation of the award-winning novel by Catherine Hernandez. Over the course of a school year, 3 kids in a low-income neighbourhood find community and friendship at a drop-in reading program.This movie hit me in all the feels. It follows three kids throughout a school year, and having read the book, these kids were perfectly cast. It’s hard to believe that none of them have acted before considering that they dealt with such heavy subject matter like complete professionals. The adults in this movie were also incredible, and in fact I can’t think of a single weak link when it comes to the acting (which is usually not the case in microbudget movies!). Shout out to Ms Hina whose facial expressions spoke volumes throughout the movie. The visuals are on point, and it feels like each shot was crafted with purpose and intent, even if that intent was to reflect the chaos of a particular scene. Plus, the story. The story! It was refreshing to see the humanity behind a community that’s so often only represented by stereotypes. It was raw, it was beautiful, it was heartbreaking, and it was real. Thank you for this.