The Selfish Giant

The Selfish Giant (2013) — watch online on iFILM — a British drama by Clio Barnard, drawn from Oscar Wilde's fairy tale and set in the post-industrial edges of Bradford.

Arbor is thirteen and barely controllable. His best friend Swifty is gentler and has an uncanny way with horses. Expelled from school together, they start collecting scrap metal for a local dealer — a shadowy figure who knows exactly how to use two boys with nothing to lose. The money is real. So is what follows. Barnard keeps sentiment at bay and lets the Yorkshire landscape — electricity pylons, waste ground, wet sky — carry the emotional weight. The film took the FIPRESCI prize in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section in 2013. Stream The Selfish Giant online on iFILM.