Cornwall Film Festival // Closing Gala: Patti Cake$

The rousing, crowd-pleasing Patti Cake$, acclaimed at Sundance earlier this year, features a heroic performance by Australian actress Danielle Macdonald in a breakout role as indomitable, if unorthodox aspiring rapper Patricia Dombrowski: aka Killa P, aka Patti Cake$. 

 

Fighting an unlikely quest for glory in her downtrodden Jersey hometown and taunted for her weight, Patti's life is notably hampered by the misfortunes and heartaches suffered by her troublesome mother (played by US comedian Bridget Everett). 

 

But, cheered on by her grandmother (Cathy Moriarty) and her friends Jheri (Siddharth Dhananjay) and Basterd (Mamadou Athie), she remains determined to battle the haters and conquer the hip hop scene with her original and affecting music. Crackling with authenticity, infectious energy and full of heart, US writer-director Geremy Jasper's feature debut celebrates his heroine's outsider status.