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The newly released Honey Boyis a collaboration between director Alma Har'el and screenwriter/star Shia LaBeouf that explores the psychological fallout of growing up in a home marked by addiction. A semi-autobiographical film for LaBeouf, the script was born out of an assignment during court-ordered rehab where he was tasked with writing out his life memories. He sent the writings to Har’el, who immediately knew that this was a story they had to tell together. Known for her visionary style in music videos and experimental documentaries, this was Har’el’s first narrative feature, and she was awarded a Dramatic Special Jury Award for Vision and Craft at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

When 12-year-old Otis starts to find success as a child television star in Hollywood, his ex-rodeo-clown father returns to serve as his guardian. When Otis isn’t on set charming audiences, he spends his days with his father at an extended-stay motel on the edge of the city, enduring his overbearing father’s abuse. Honey Boy follows two threads of time, watching father and son’s contentious relationship and their attempts to mend it across the course of a decade.

1. Shia LaBeouf and Alma Har’el attend the premiere of Honey Boy at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. - © 2019 Sundance Institute | Photo by Stephen Speckman
2. FKA Twigs, Shia LaBeouf, Noah Jupe, and Alma Har’el during the Honey Boy premiere Q&A. - © 2019 Sundance Institute | Photo by Stephen Speckman
3. Film still courtesy of Honey Boy