CHOP SHOP International Feature Competition

Combining the powers of observation and understatement, director Ramin Bahrani is able to render an emotional tale of two siblings who struggle to stay together and get their own little piece of the American dream.

Small in stature but huge in ambition, 12-year-old Dominican orphan Alejandro works every angle in his struggle to support himself and his older sister. He lives and works in an auto-body repair shop in a sprawling junkyard on the outskirts of Queens, New York. CHOP SHOP is a portrait of a young boy navigating his way through a chaotic adult world . Set in a stunning and unique location, it is subtle and simple, but tells a profound story about the people who live, work and dream there.

With its terrific performances from both Alejandro Polanco (a first-time actor discovered in a public school in Manhattan) and lsamar Gonzales , CHOP SHOP is a thoughtful , evocative portrayal of family , longing and the chaotic nature of life. Bahrani firmly establishes himself as a bright light in cinema and a passionately inventive filmmaker.