This is the remarkable first film by the celebrated British photographer Richard Billingham, whose shockingly intimate portraits of his alcoholic father Ray made his reputation. Now working-class Ray and Richard's chain-smoking, tattooed mother Liz are brought to life by two sets of actors in this singular autobiographical memory film. Structured as a triptych, and shot on 16mm in the box-like 4:3 ratio, this savage, tender, and darkly funny film takes us into the bosom of Billingham's dysfunctional family, where the couple's two young sons must learn to survive their parents' hopelessly neglectful ways - not to mention the disastrous babysitting of Mum's intellectually challenged brother, and a metalhead lodger with menacing intentions. Billingham takes kitchen-sink realism to new, bleakly poetic levels with his haunting images of flats cluttered with pets, booze, bric-a-brac, and broken dreams.

In competition for the New Voices New Visions Award.

Director Richard Billingham will be in attendance January 11 and 12.