Dean Crowe Theatre Athlone

Tuesday 12 December 2023 8pm

Dir: Gina Gammell, Riley Keough USA 2022

Language: English

Running time: 114 mins Cert: 15

Starring: Iona Red Bear, LaDainian Crazy Thunder, Jojo Bapteise Whiting

Gina Gammell and Riley Keough's debut follows the interlocking stories of two Lakota boys growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Bill (Jojo Bapteise Whiting), at twenty-three, just wants to make something of himself and is determined to hustle his way to a better life through odd jobs and get-rich-quick schemes. Twelve-year-old Matho (LaDainian Crazy Thunder) is desperate for approval from his young father.

A series of impulsive decisions turns Matho's life upside down, and he finds himself unequipped to deal with the harsh realities of the adult world. 'War Pony' is a tender portrait of two boys' troubled passage into adulthood and a deserving winner of the top prize in the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard.

Festival showings:
Cannes Film Festival, 2022
International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2023
South by Southwest Film Festival, 2023

Awards
Winner, Caméra d'Or, Gina Gammell, Riley Keough, Cannes Film Festival, 2022

Quotes:
​​​​★★★★ "…. there is in their lives something genuinely uplifting and heroic." - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
★★★★ “This Caméra d’Or winner (for best debut feature at Cannes) is a keenly observed, subtle, and challenging drama about a corner of society never included in the American dream, one that reveals both the spirit and longing found there..” – Hilary White, Irish Independent.