All her life, Vittoria Bastet-Vincentini (Michele Ann Einert) has had one mission: feeding the homeless. Now treachery brews in her home as she readies her unwilling daughter Susan (Natalie Sifferman) to inherit her legacy, with all its sinister secrets. Aided by her uncle Jimmy (Tom Jenkins), Susan initiates a plan of her own, setting the stage for a blood-and-guts confrontation between mother and daughter.

Claws Out digs into the notion of tradition. At the heart of this neo-noir thriller lies a family in crisis, riven by the very traditions that once held it together. Drawing from her family’s history of migrant experiences, writer-director Dalya Guérin interrogates the rituals that keep us rooted in a changing world. When the claws come out and all bets are off, how far will you go to defend your traditions?