The World Premiere of the Sarah Gavron's ROCKS powerful third feature is set to launch the TIFF competitive section

The Toronto International Film Festival announced today that the World Premiere of Rocks, director Sarah Gavron’s intimate, honest, and precise third feature, will open the 2019 Platform programme. The follow-up to her earlier Suffragette and Brick Lane stars Bukky Bakray in a career-launching role as Rocks, a teenager who suddenly finds herself struggling to take care of herself and her younger brother.

“Rocks brilliantly reimagines the coming-of-age narrative with a pathos and precision we rarely see,” said Cameron Bailey, Platform Co-Curator and TIFF Artistic Director and Co-Head. “Across only two features, Gavron has already proven herself as a distinct voice in world cinema, and we are proud to open this year’s Platform section with her remarkable third directorial effort, an affecting celebration of empathy and an urgent reminder of the essential value of friendship.” A film about resilience, joy, and the spirit of girlhood, Rocks follows a teenager who fears that she and her little brother will be forced apart if anyone finds out they are living alone. With the help of her friends, she evades the authorities and navigates the most defining days of her teenage life. “I am so honoured and excited that Rocks will open Platform, a section that has included films by some of my recent cinema heroes,” said Gavron. “With Rocks we set out to collaborate with the young people in the cast, working in a way I have never worked before to create a film that feels true to the contemporary teenage girl experience. Like the London of our film, Toronto is filled with people from all walks of life, and the Festival has — in my experience — the most passionate audiences. It is very special for us to be invited with the cast for their first film premiere.” The film is eligible for the Toronto Platform Prize, an award of $20,000 CAD given to the best film in the programme, selected by a three-person jury. Named after Jia Zhang-ke’s trailblazing second feature, the Toronto International Film Festival’s Platform programme champions bold directorial visions.