"The Safdies' films evince a staunch belief in pie-in-the-sky idealism … and bear sympathetic witness to the wanderings of their savage innocents and aimless, unenlightened rebels." – Cinema Scope

Nineteen-year-old Harley lives amongst the sleazy, rarely seen underbelly of New York City. Drug addicted and homeless, she drifts from her abusive boyfriend Ilya to the panhandling dealer Mike. Forever living in the moment, Harley searches for instances of beauty amidst the harsh reality of her world.

Whilst researching another film, the Safdie brothers came across the revelatory Arielle Holmes. They encouraged her to write down her story, and then adapted her work into this film, or "opera of glass", as they call it. Holmes plays herself opposite co-star Caleb Landry Jones (from Antiviral, X-Men: First Class and MIFF 2014's Queen and Country), bringing an intense and unparalleled sense of authenticity to the role. For his part, Landry Jones immersed himself into the reality of life on the streets, with the result being a startlingly realistic peek into a subculture rarely encountered in contemporary cinema.

Grittily shot by cinematographer Sean Price Williams (Queen of Earth, MIFF 2015; Listen Up Philip, MIFF 2014) and enlivened by a striking synth score, Heaven Knows What won the Grand Prix and Best Director awards at the Tokyo Film Festival.

"Heaven Knows What might be the best of its type since Requiem for a Dream … but it has a greater urgency than most movies on the topic by casting real-life addicts and street characters in situations loosely based on their own lives." – Indiewire

Find out more about the Talking Pictures panel event related to this screening.