''Trash'' is a 2014

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Stephen Daldry Stephen David Daldry Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway theatre, Broadway and an Olivie ...

and written by

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...

, based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Andy Mulligan. The film stars

Rooney Mara Rooney Mara Phoenix ( ; born Patricia Rooney Mara; April 17, 1985) is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a British Academy Film Award. Born into the Rooney and Mara fam ...

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

Wagner Moura Wagner Maniçoba de Moura (; born 27 June 1976) is a Brazilian actor, voice-actor and filmmaker. His accolades include the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''The Secret Agent'' (2025), as well as a Golden Globe n ...

, and

Selton Mello Selton Figueiredo Mello (; born 30 December 1972) is a Brazilian actor and filmmaker. Acting since childhood on TV shows, Mello gained popularity in Brazil for his comedic performances in ''A Dog's Will'' (2000) and ''Lisbela e o Prisioneiro, L ...

Plot

''Trash'' follows three Brazilian street teenagers in Rio de Janeiro; Raphael, Gardo, and Rat (Jun-Jun) who spend their time picking through litter in the hope of finding useful waste. One day they discover a wallet whose contents bring them into conflict with the brutal local police force as they find themselves unlikely whistleblowers in a city rife with corruption.

Cast

as Sister Olivia *

as Father Juilliard *

as José Angelo *

as Federico Gonz *

Stepan Nercessian Stepan Nercessian (born 2 December 1953) is a Brazilian actor and politician of Armenian descent. Nercessian was born in Cristalina, Goiás; his career began in the late 1960s, in the film ''Marcelo Zona Sul''. He also acted on stage and televis ...

as Santos * Rickson Tevez as Raphael * Eduardo Luis as Gardo * Gabriel Weinstein as Rat (Jun-Jun) * Pedro Pauleey as The Cleaner *

Nelson Xavier Nelson Agostini Xavier (; 30 August 1941 – 10 May 2017) was a Brazilian actor. He appeared in more than 95 films and television shows between 1959 and 2017. He starred in the 1964 film ''Os Fuzis'', which won the Silver Bear, Silver Bear ...

as Jefferson *

Leandro Firmino Leandro Firmino (born June 23, 1978) is a Brazilian actor. He is best known for his role as drug lord Li'l Zé (Zé Pequeno), Li'l Zé in the Academy Award nominated film ''City of God (2002 film), City of God''. He also had a main role in on ...

as Thiago

Production

On 5 April 2011,

Working Title Films Working Title Films Limited, formerly Visionensure Limited and Working Title Limited, is a British film and television production company that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The company was founded by ...

and PeaPie Films acquired the film rights to Andy Mulligan's 2010 adventure thriller novel ''Trash''. Screenwriter

was set to adapt the novel and

was set to direct the film.

Casting

On 8 July 2013,

joined the cast to play the role of Olivia, an NGO worker.

signed up to play the role of Father Juilliard.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began on 24 July 2013, in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Marketing

The first trailer was released on 31 July 2014.

Release

The film was distributed outside of North America by

Universal Pictures International Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American film production and distribution company headquartered at the Universal Studios complex in Universal City, ...

. The film had its world premiere at the

Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival The Festival do Rio is an international film festival in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populou ...

on 7 October 2014. It was released in

on 9 October 2014. and in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 30 January 2015. The film was released in the United States on 9 October 2015, by

Focus World Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as a unit of Universal Pictures, which is itself a unit of Comcast's division NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and forei ...

in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, it has a score of , an average rating of , based on reviews. The film's consensus states: "Action-packed, funny, and thought-provoking, ''Trash'' finds feel-good cinema in real-life squalor without resorting to cheap sentimentality." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film holds a score of 50 out of 100, based on 18 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Awards

* 2015:

BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language The BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language is a film award given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 36th British Academy F ...

(nominated) * 2014:

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...

– BNL People's Choice Award: Gala (won) * 2014:

– 'Alice in the City' Award (won) * 2014:

Camerimage The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage () is a festival that celebrates and awards cinematography and cinematographers. The festival is held in Toruń, Poland, at the end of November every year. It spans the cou ...

– Golden Frog: Main Competition (nominated) * 2014:

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (BNFF), or PÖFF (Pimedate Ööde filmifestival), is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is one of the largest film festivals in Northern Europe. In 2014, it was ...

– Just Film Award: Best Youth Film (nominated)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trash 2014 films 2014 crime drama films 2014 thriller films Brazilian crime drama films Brazilian thriller films British crime drama films British thriller films English-language Brazilian films Films about children Films about friendship Films about miscarriage of justice Films about poverty Films based on British novels Films based on crime novels Films based on thriller novels Films directed by Stephen Daldry Films produced by Eric Fellner Films produced by Tim Bevan Films set in Rio de Janeiro (city) Films set in slums Films shot in Rio de Janeiro (city) 2010s Portuguese-language films Films with screenplays by Richard Curtis Working Title Films films Films scored by Antônio Pinto 2010s English-language films 2010s British films 2010s Brazilian films English-language crime drama films English-language thriller films Portuguese-language drama films Portuguese-language crime films