Review by Aaron Haughton

Sean Baker serves up a strong and poignant follow up to Tangerine with The Florida Project. The film is an ode to the magic of childhood and is a profoundly entertaining celebration of the people living day-to-day to make ends meet. Its'a a rare gem that is sure to warm even the coldest of hearts, and it proves that Baker is one of the most humane filmmakers working today.

The film takes place at the Magic Inn, a somewhat seedy motel located in Orlando right next to the most magical place on earth (aka Disney World). The film is told entirely through the eyes of a rambunctious 6-year-old girl, Moonee (played by newcomer Brooklynn Prince). Moonee's mother, Halley (played by another newcomer Bria Vinaite), is a fiercely rebellious and struggles to get the rent paid each week by running a knock-off perfume hustle on the tourists residing at the nicer resorts nearby. Lucky for Halley, the Magic Inn manager, Bobby (played by the wonderful William Dafoe), is very compassionate about the motel's tenets, treating them in many cases as a surrogate father. Forced to find fun outside the Disney gates during the summer, Moonee and her ragtag gang of neighboring motel rascals manage to find it in the most mundane and unexpected places.