Scrapper 2023

In London, twelve-year-old Georgie has been living alone since her mother Vicky died, pretending to social services that she is being cared for by her uncle. Only her friend Ali knows the truth, and helps her steal bikes to survive. Georgie believes she is processing the five stages of grief, but she clings to the home Vicky left it, and finds solace in a video on her phone of her and her mother, a small window into the life she once had.

Her summer routine is upended by the arrival of her estranged father, Jason, who has been living in Ibiza and selling nightclub tickets. He tries to win over Ali, but Georgie remains wary, especially after discovering a bullet in his pocket that hints at dangers she’s better off not facing. He offers a fragile sense of presence, a possible doorway to a family she craves, even as the past makes him seem unpredictable.

Jason tries to bridge the growing gap by helping her scrape the serial number off a stolen bike, a moment that briefly sparks trust between them. Yet the trust evaporates when he catches her snooping through his phone, and the rift between father and daughter widens. Georgie’s frustration spills over into a confrontation with Ali, who defends Jason, and a tooth-related moment during dinner—one of her baby teeth falling out—reminds her of the fragility of childhood and how much is at stake.

The two cling to a shared thrill of risk as they sneak out to steal bikes again, narrowly escaping the police. But that night, Georgie discovers she has lost her phone, and a surge of anger sends her storming off to search. In the chaos, she encounters her schoolmate Layla and, in a moment of rage, lashes out at her. The incident compounds the tension at home, and Georgie retreats to a padlocked room in her flat, where she imagines climbing a towering scaffold of scrap metal toward the sky, a symbolic ascent toward a dream of heaven and a missing mother.

Yet the same night, Jason accompanies her on a metal-detecting expedition in a field, and he plants a bracelet for her—a small gesture meant to anchor memories to the present. He even buys her a cake, which she leaves on Layla’s doorstep, a peace offering that stirs Layla’s mother and prompts a quiet, painful reflection on the consequences of their choices. Later, Jason slips a phone back into Georgie’s possession and leaves a voicemail from Vicky begging him to come home and be a father. It’s a moment that reframes their relationship, revealing the pain and hope behind every action.

The next day, Georgie tracks down Jason at a playground where he’s playing football with other kids. He admits he wanted to tell her about the voicemail but was too frightened to share the truth, and Georgie voices her desire to have him in her life, no matter the mistakes they’ll make along the way. Their conversation crystallizes a hard-won resolve to navigate life together as father and daughter, with honesty as their guide.

Throughout it all, social services remain none the wiser about the missing Uncle who never existed, and Layla enjoys the cake while savoring two weeks off school as a small, ordinary relief in a turbulent summer. Georgie and Jason keep stealing bikes and learning to live with each other’s flaws, gradually rebuilding trust and finding new rhythms. As she redecorates the living room alongside her father, Georgie also begins to mend her relationship with Ali, recognizing that family can be chosen and built piece by piece.

What emerges is a tender, hopeful portrait of a girl learning to let someone in, a father who learns to stay, and a city that watches them stumble, rise, and redefine what “home” can mean.