Trash Mountain brings Missouri family clear-out to Toronto
Trash Mountain brought a family clear-out to the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was booked for its world bow.
The film plays in the festival's 2026 Centrepiece programme, the section for international features and festival favourites, according to TIFF. It is described as an indie about love and death. The runtime is 90 minutes.
Kris Rey directs from a script by Caleb Hearon and Ruby Caster, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It is Rey's fifth feature film. It is her first since the 2020 Gillian Jacobs-starring I Used to Go Here.
Hearon stars as Gavin. Zooey Deschanel plays Abbi, his half-sister. The story follows the pair back to Missouri after the death of their father, a hoarder, to empty his packed house.
They do not do it alone. Jacki Weaver plays Gavin and Abbi's grandmother. Kyle Marvin plays Abbi's husband. Jaboukie Young-White plays a professor who becomes Gavin's romantic interest.
Gavin is a comedian. At one point his character performs stand-up at a drag club, as noted in Mashable's festival review. Much of the action stays close to the house in rural Missouri, where Gavin cleans it out with help from his grandmother and half-sister.
The story draws on Hearon's own life, which he discussed alongside Deschanel and Rey at THR's TIFF Studio at the 1 Hotel in Toronto, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Hearon and Deschanel helped unveil the film at the festival. The trio also sat for a TIFF video interview with Deadline centred on grief and humour.
For audiences finding it on the festival schedule, TIFF hosts an official film page for Trash Mountain. Hearon also spoke to IndieWire about making the film.
