This film is currently unavailable

Ballast
Three haunted souls are thrust into co-existence in this searing debut work from Lance Hammer, a double prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival.
Director: Lance Hammer
Overview
A double prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival, and numerous awards internationally, Ballast is one of the most acclaimed American independent films of recent years, a stunningly evocative story of personal catastrophe and communal redemption. In the cold winter light of the Mississippi Delta, three lonely people stumble under the weight of a shared tragedy. Lawrence (Michael J. Smith Sr.) is paralysed with grief after the loss of his twin brother. Twelve-year-old James (JimMyron Ross) drifts into the perilous orbit of local teenagers, while his single mother, Marlee (Tarra Riggs), is too exhausted from her menial job to interpret the clues.
When sudden violence forces mother and son to leave their home in the middle of the night, they desperately flee to Lawrence’s property. Though this provides a safe harbor, it quickly rekindles the fury of a bitter, longstanding conflict between them. Writer-director Lance Hammer, together with British Cinematographer Lol Crawley (Better Things, Four Lions) and a gifted cast of local, non-professional actors have created an unflinching, profoundly humane story of lost souls forced by circumstance to seek solace in the most unlikely of places.
Related

Following Following
Drama 1999 67 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s gritty neo-noir first feature about a young London writer who gets drawn into a criminal underworld.

Student Services Student Services
Drama 2010 103 mins Director: Emmanuelle Bercot
A cash-strapped student becomes an escort exposing the stark realities of economic exploitation in this uncompromising gritty French drama.

Insomnia Insomnia
Thriller 2002 118 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
Al Pacino shines in Christopher Nolan’s smart psychological thriller about a weary detective chasing a murder suspect in remote Alaska.

The Long Walk The Long Walk
Horror 2019 116 mins Director: Mattie Do
An old Laotian farmer, haunted by past trauma, encounters a ghost who transports him back in time, in Mattie Do’s evocative genre-bending film.

Treading Water Treading Water
Drama 2024 122 mins Director: Gino Evans
A brutal, fascinating portrait of the realities of addiction and mental health issues, set against the backdrop of the iconic Manchester skyline.

I Am Curious - Yellow I Am Curious - Yellow
Drama 1967 117 mins Director: Vilgot Sjöman
Vilgot Sjoman's controversial classic following one woman's exploration of national identity and her own sexuality in 1960s Sweden.

Tokyo Story Tokyo Story
Drama 1953 136 mins Director: Yasujirō Ozu
A constant fixture in critics' polls, Yasujirō Ozu's most enduring masterpiece is a beautifully nuanced exploration of filial duty, expectation and regret

Mother Mother
Thriller 2009 129 mins Director: Bong Joon-ho
Cult Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s (The Host, Snowpiercer) fourth feature is a startlingly original and thrilling account of the limits of maternal devotion.

La Haine La Haine
Drama 1995 98 mins Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Mathieu Kassovitz’s landmark mid-90s drama throws a cinematic Molotov cocktail at structural racism, police brutality and media manipulation.

Following Following
Drama 1999 67 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s gritty neo-noir first feature about a young London writer who gets drawn into a criminal underworld.

Student Services Student Services
Drama 2010 103 mins Director: Emmanuelle Bercot
A cash-strapped student becomes an escort exposing the stark realities of economic exploitation in this uncompromising gritty French drama.

Insomnia Insomnia
Thriller 2002 118 mins Director: Christopher Nolan
Al Pacino shines in Christopher Nolan’s smart psychological thriller about a weary detective chasing a murder suspect in remote Alaska.

The Long Walk The Long Walk
Horror 2019 116 mins Director: Mattie Do
An old Laotian farmer, haunted by past trauma, encounters a ghost who transports him back in time, in Mattie Do’s evocative genre-bending film.

Treading Water Treading Water
Drama 2024 122 mins Director: Gino Evans
A brutal, fascinating portrait of the realities of addiction and mental health issues, set against the backdrop of the iconic Manchester skyline.

I Am Curious - Yellow I Am Curious - Yellow
Drama 1967 117 mins Director: Vilgot Sjöman
Vilgot Sjoman's controversial classic following one woman's exploration of national identity and her own sexuality in 1960s Sweden.