The unexpected sight of a home being towed down a highway was the jumping off point for Vladimir de Fontenay’s strikingly visual and emotionally charged story of a young mother and child.

Ali, her son Bone, and her boyfriend Evan lead an itinerant life, skipping out on diner bills, crashing in cheap motels and empty trailers, selling birds for cockfights and hustling to get by. But while Evan has grand ideas about building a life together, the reality he’s capable of is a far cry from their dreams, and his questionable parenting worries Ali. When the uneasy family unit is unexpectedly separated, it opens the door to a different life for Ali and Bone.

Set against the icy backdrop of winter on the border of the US and Canada, de Fontenay’s gritty first feature observes characters on society’s margins, and how a life without roots can affect these vulnerable yet resilient individuals.

In competition for the New Voices New Visions Award.