Life can feel like an endless uphill battle for families in the titular Toronto neighbourhood where addiction, poverty and job insecurity are common. Bing, Sylvie and Laura are three young children variously dealing with abuse and neglect, mental illness and precarious housing. But the friendship and stability formed through their participation in a local drop-in reading programme stands in contrast to the various struggles they experience in a system destined to fail them.
Co-directors Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson’s documentary-like shooting style captures Scarborough and its residents with sensitive attention to detail that celebrates the bonds formed amid their diverse struggles. Adapted for the screen by Catherine Hernandez from her own hit novel, Scarborough is a profoundly humane and authentic portrait of a community, and the resilience of young people coming of age on the margins.
2021. 136 min. 14A.