Crackie

“Life on the Rock never seemed easy, but for Mitsy (Meghan Greeley) it is especially rough. The teenager has been abandoned by her mother, a particularly unfit parent prone to both the bottle and the sex trade. She is left to be brought up by her mercurial grandmother Bride (Mary Walsh), who is well-meaning but oppressively suffocating. Mitsy's dreams for the future hinge on her desire to be a hairdresser, but her current emotional well-being revolves around a wee dog named Sparky, an unwanted canine misfit to whom she becomes hopelessly attached. Mitsy's life is shaken once more when her mother (Cheryl Wells) returns to Newfoundland . . . Sherry White’s feature directorial debut is a delicate balancing act, a sharply observed character study full of evocative moments and raw human emotion” (Matthew Hays, Toronto I.F.F.). “Astute, affecting and impressive . . . With its equal measures of grit and poetry, toughness and compassion, Crackie announces the auspicious arrival not only of a compelling new Canadian cinematic heroine, but also that of her talented creator, Sherry White” (Tom McSorley). The film’s title is Newfoundland slang for a mutt. Colour, 35mm. 94 mins.