Fresh off the set of Deadpool, rising star Taylor Hickson breathes life into Hunting Pignut, a coming-of-age story that explores the emotional turmoil of losing an estranged parent.

Hickson plays Bernice “Story” Kilfoy, a teen struggling to endure the rigours of high school and a fractured relationship with her single mother. Choosing life on the streets as a gutter punk over his young family, Bernice’s father left for the big city when she was a young child.

When informed that he’s died from a heroin overdose, the young girl takes off on a quest to discover more.

Both charming and abrasive, Hickson expertly navigates the movie’s scenes of illegal drug use and sexual assault, never once overshadowed by the excellent supporting cast of colourful degenerates.

Village 8 Cinemas Theatre 6, December 3 (7:30 p.m.); Village 8 Cinemas Theatre 8, December 4 (8:15 p.m.)