Hoard (film)

2023 film by Luna Carmoon

Hoard

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Luna Carmoon
Written by| Luna Carmoon
Produced by|

* Loran Dunn
* Helen Simmons
* Andrew Starke

Starring|

* Saura Lightfoot-Leon
* Hayley Squires
* Joseph Quinn
* Lily-Beau Leach
* Deba Hekmat
* Samantha Spiro
* Cathy Tyson

Cinematography| Jim Williams
Edited by| Nanu Segal
Music by| Rachel Durance

Production
companies

* BFI
* BBC Film
* Anti-Worlds
* Delaval Film
* Erebus Pictures

Distributed by| Vertigo Releasing

Release dates

* 2 September 2023 (2023-09-02) (Venice)
* 17 May 2024 (2024-05-17) (United Kingdom and Ireland)

Running time

| 126 minutes[1]
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English
Box office| $88,244[2]

Hoard is a 2023 British coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Luna Carmoon in her feature directorial debut. It stars Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Hayley Squires, Joseph Quinn, Lily-Beau Leach, Deba Hekmat, Samantha Spiro, and Cathy Tyson. It follows a teenager whose mother used to be an obsessive hoarder as she journeys through childhood trauma and emerging sexuality.

The film had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2023, where it won three prizes. It was theatrically released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 17 May 2024, by Vertigo Releasing. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised Carmoon's direction and the performances of the cast. Carmoon was nominated for the European Discovery at the 37th European Film Awards and for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 78th British Academy Film Awards.

## Plot summary

[edit]

8-year-old Maria lives with her mother, Cynthia, who is a hoarder. Although Cynthia is loving and affectionate, their house is filthy and rat-infested, and Cynthia becomes upset if Maria doesn't save the day's rubbish and bring it home to her. Cynthia often repeats aphorisms and rhymes, encouraging Maria to do the same, and describes her hoarded items as her and Maria's 'catalogue of love'. At Christmas, one of Cynthia's stacks of hoarded items collapses, severely injuring her. Maria is placed in foster care.

Ten years later, in 1994, an 18-year-old Maria still lives with her foster mother, Michelle. Another of Michelle's former charges, the older Michael, comes to stay with them temporarily while he searches for a house with his girlfriend. Cynthia's ashes are delivered to Maria, the courier advising that cremated remains are only delivered within two weeks of death; meaning that Cynthia only recently passed. The same day, Maria's childhood best friend, Laraib, is forced by her family to move away due to rebellious behavior.

Maria and Michael become close and form a strange, intense physical relationship, often playfighting and roughhousing. Michael's girlfriend visits one day, and Maria finds out she is pregnant. Her encounters with Michael continue to escalate, and Maria asks Michael to burn her stomach with an iron, something that happened to her as a child. Maria has recurring flashbacks to her life with Cynthia and hallucinates herself and Michael repeating Cynthia's rhymes.

Maria begins to hoard garbage and increasingly neglects her physical hygiene. When she wanders outside during the night and comes home with chilblains, Michael tenderly cares for her, and they have sex. The next morning, Michael's girlfriend Leah visits; Maria discovers he proposed to her the day before. That night, Michael and Maria encounter a woman who has been seriously injured in a hit-and-run; she dies as Maria waits for Michael to get help, and Maria places coins over her eyes, walks away and climbs into a large rubbish bin.

The next day, a barefoot, filthy Maria returns home. Locked in her room, which is revealed to be filled with hoarded trash, Maria imagines herself and Cynthia happy together in their house. Leah arrives to confront Michael, who has broken up with her via a voicemail. Michael breaks in to Maria's room and begs her to love him, but Maria finally rejects him and Michelle, learning the truth of their relationship, asks him to leave. As Michael and Leah leave together, Maria gifts her with a trinket, advising her to never leave her daughter.

Michelle helps Maria throw away her hoard, and Laraib returns home. On New Year's Eve, Maria sneaks into a tip, where she sits atop a pile of rubbish to watch fireworks. In a voiceover, she tells Cynthia she loves her and says the 'catalogue of love' has returned to her.

## Cast

[edit]

* Saura Lightfoot Leon as Maria
* Lily-Beau Leach as young Maria
* Hayley Squires as Cynthia, Maria's mother
* Joseph Quinn as Michael, one of Michelle's former foster children
* Deba Hekmat as Laraib, Maria's school friend
* Samantha Spiro as Michelle, Maria's foster mother
* Cathy Tyson as Sam
* Nabil Elouahabi as Ali
* Sandra Hale as Janice
* Alexis Tuttle as Mrs Norwood

## Production

[edit]

The film is produced by Delaval Film, Erebus Pictures, Anti-Worlds with producers Loran Dunn, Helen Simmons and Andy Starke. It is backed by the British Film Institute (BFI) and BBC Film.[3][4]

Casting was revealed in April 2022 with Saura Lightfoot Leon, Deba Hekmat, Hayley Squires, Joseph Quinn and Lily-Beau Leach in the lead roles.[5]

Principal photography took place in South-East London and was completed by May 2022.[6]

## Release

[edit]

Hoard had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2023.[7] The film was firstly shown at the BFI London Film Festival Works-in-Progress showcase in October 2022.[8] It had a UK premiere date of 9 October 2023, again at the BFI London Film Festival.[9] The film was theatrically released in the UK and Ireland on 17 May 2024.[10] In April 2024, Sunrise Films acquired distribution rights for the United States and Canada, where it is scheduled to be released on 6 September 2024.[11][12]

## Reception

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 47 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10.[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[14]

Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian gave the film four stars out of five, describing a "deeply strange and emotionally extravagant story" with "a lot of storytelling substance. Hoard isn’t perfect but its pure vehemence and the commitment of its performances are arresting".[15] Ed Potton in The Times compared the filmmaking to Andrea Arnold and Andrew Birkin but said that "Carmoon is very much her own film-maker" and praised Lightfoot Leon's performance, saying she was "a leading lady with animalistic, inhibited presence".[16] The film also received four stars out of five from Sophie Monks Kauffman in Time Out who called it a "visceral debut" which "defies simple interpretations" and made mention of cinematographer Nanu Segal’s handheld camerawork which "captures the fearless Lightfoot Leon".[17]

### Accolades

[edit]

Carmoon was nominated for Best Directing Debut and Squires, Lightloot Leon and Quinn all received acting nominations at the British Independent Film Awards in November 2024.[18]

Award  | Date of ceremony  | Category  | Recipient(s)  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Venice Film Festival | 9 September 2023 | Venice International Critics' Week – Grand Prize  | Luna Carmoon | Nominated  | [19]
The Film Club Audience Award  | Won
Verona Film Club Award  | Won
Authors Under 40 Award – Best Directing and Screenwriting  | Won
Venice International Critics' Week – Jury Special Mention  | Saura Lightfoot Leon  | Won
London Film Festival | 15 October 2023 | Sutherland Award for Best First Feature  | Hoard | Nominated  | [20]
Valladolid International Film Festival | 28 October 2023 | Punto de Encuentro Award  | Nominated  | [21]
New Horizons Film Festival | 27 July 2024  | The Audience Award  | Hoard | Won  | [22]
European Film Awards | 7 December 2024 | European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI | Nominated  | [23]
British Independent Film Awards | 8 December 2024 | Best Supporting Performance  | Hayley Squires | Nominated  | [24]
Best Joint Lead Performance  | Joseph Quinn and Saura Lightfoot-Leon | Nominated
Breakthrough Performance | Saura Lightfoot-Leon | Nominated
Best Casting | Heather Basten  | Nominated
Best Production Design | Bobbie Cousins  | Nominated
Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) | Luna Carmoon | Nominated

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Hoard (18)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
2. ^ "Hoard". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
3. ^ "Hoard". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
4. ^ Dalton, Ben (25 April 2022). "Saura Lightfoot Leon, Joseph Quinn, Hayley Squires to lead Luna Carmoon's 'Hoard' for BBC Film, BFI". Screen Daily. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
5. ^ Grater, Tom (25 April 2022). "Saura Lightfoot Leon, Hayley Squires & Joseph Quinn Starring In UK Debut 'Hoard'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
6. ^ Leigh, Janet (30 May 2022). "Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn says season 4 part two will be the show's craziest". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
7. ^ Azeem, Safwan (28 March 2024). "Joseph Quinn Is Dangerously Obsessed With Saura Lightfoot Leon in New 'Hoard' Trailer". Collider. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
8. ^ Tabbara, Mona (20 September 2022). "Adura Onashile's 'Girl', Luna Carmoon's 'Hoard' selected for BFI London Film Festival Works-in-Progress". Screen Daily. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
9. ^ Duncan, Charlie (9 October 2023). "Stranger Things star's critically acclaimed new movie lands UK release". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
10. ^ Sandwell, Ian (31 January 2024). "UK film release dates: Find out when all the latest movies are coming to cinemas". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
11. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (29 April 2024). "Luna Carmoon's Venice Winner Hoard Acquired for U.S. and Canada by Sunrise Films (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
12. ^ McPherson, Chris (29 August 2024). "Things Get Cramped for Joseph Quinn in New 'Hoard Poster [Exclusive]". Collider. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
13. ^ "Hoard". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
14. ^ "Hoard". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
15. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (2 September 2023). "Hoard review – a haunting study of loneliness and thwarted sexuality". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
16. ^ Potton, Ed (14 May 2024). "Hoard review — a thrilling cinematic fever dream". The Times. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
17. ^ Monks Kaufman, Sophie (18 September 2023). "Hoard film review". Time Out. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
18. ^ Ntim, Zac (5 November 2024). "British Independent Film Awards: 'Kneecap' Leads Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
19. ^ "COLLATERAL AWARDS OF THE 80TH VENICE FILM FESTIVAL". La Biennale di Venezia. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
20. ^ Ntim, Zac (31 August 2023). "BFI London Film Festival Full Lineup: 'The Book Of Clarence' World Premiere; Scorsese, Miyazaki, Lanthimos & Fincher Among Headline Galas". Deadline. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
21. ^ "The female gaze prevails among the new and audacious voices selected for the Seminci program". Valladolid International Film Festival (in Spanish). 19 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
22. ^ "Znamy laureatów 24. MFF mBank Nowe Horyzonty | Aktualności | mBank Nowe Horyzonty". www.nowehoryzonty.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 31 July 2024.
23. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (5 November 2024). "European Film Awards: 'Emilia Pérez', 'The Room Next Door' Lead Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
24. ^ Szalai, Georg (5 November 2024). "British Independent Film Awards: 'Kneecap,' 'Love Lies Bleeding' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 November 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Hoard at IMDb