The Souvenir

The Souvenir is a 2019 drama film written and directed by Joanna Hogg. A semi-autobiographical account of Hogg's experiences at film school, it stars Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke and Tilda Swinton. The Souvenir had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 17 January 2019, and was released in the US on 17 May 2019 by A24, and in the UK on 30 August 2019, by Curzon Artificial Eye. It received critical acclaim. A sequel, The Souvenir Part II, was released in 2021. Plot Julie, a film student, intends to make a movie about a boy, his mother, and their life in the city of Sunderland. She lives in a Knightsbridge flat with another student and his girlfriend. She meets Anthony, a well-to-do man who works at the Foreign Office, who moves in with her after her flatmate moves out. He leaves a postcard with a picture of the girl in a painting called The Souvenir. He later takes her to the gallery where the painting is hung. Julie says the girl looks sad, while Anthony says she looks determined. Anthony has to travel to Paris but returns with some lingerie, which he asks Julie to put on. While they are in bed, she notices some needle marks on his arm but doesn't know what they are, and he continues to ask Julie for money regularly. Julie starts to pay for their restaurant bills and is forced to borrow money from her parents.