On a trip to the US, Kate Beecroft discovered Tabatha Zimiga’s ranch in South Dakota, east of the city Wall. The place fascinated her so much that she returned later and spent three years living with Tabatha, the horses, and the young strays that found a home there. After that, she wrote a screenplay.

EAST OF WALL is reminiscent of Chloé Zhao’s THE RIDER, which was also set in South Dakota. The actors play out their own stories here too, and horses, family, violence, poverty, and the dramatic expanse of the landscape are important elements of the narrative. But whereas Zhao tells an existential story of death and survival, Beecroft portrays an extraordinary social network, composed primarily of women, with empathy and optimism. After the death of her husband, Tabatha, a resolute women with a lot of tattoos, platinum blonde hair and a big heart, manages the ranch on her own. Her horses are excellently trained and her oldest daughter Porshia (Porshia Zimiga) is an up-and-coming rodeo star, but money is tight because the horses that Tabatha also sells over Tiktok do not fetch the prices they deserve. Furthermore, Tabatha isn’t just feeding her own kids, but also a whole slew of teens who fled their homes filled with neglect or alcoholism. One day, Roy (Scoot McNairy) shows up at a rodeo and offers to buy her ranch. The price is enticing, but is it worth giving up her autonomy?

EAST OF WALL is an incredibly warm-hearted film that loves its protagonists. The hardships in their lives are clear. In what is possibly the most moving scene in the film, women from different generations tell their stories of abuse, violence, and suicide around the campfire. But Beecroft primarily sees the courage with which they face these circumstances, the wild joy of the teens when they’re with the horses and the strength they draw from the community.

Hendrike Bake (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy